


Blackout

by sagely_sea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Badass Keith, Canon-Typical Violence, Crush at First Sight, Happy Ending, Kidnapping, M/M, Mage Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Prince Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24895162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagely_sea/pseuds/sagely_sea
Summary: Keith wakes up in a dark cellar with an unconscious prince Shiro beside him and while he wanted to keep an eye on him, this wasn’t at all what he had in mind. Now, he had to convince the prince to trust a lowly mage apprentice so they can get back to Atlas and stop his master before he can rekindle the war between the Galra and the other kingdoms.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 130
Collections: Black Paladins Bang 2020





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Shieth Black Paladins Big Bang 2020. 
> 
> This was supposed to be a mini-bang of about 10 000 words but somehow it doubled in size. I blame Shiro wanting to spend more time with the pretty apprentice mage. 
> 
> So, I hope you also enjoy spending time with the pretty mage and the smitten prince as they get themselves in and then out of trouble (and perhaps in and out of it again...).

Keith groaned as he came awake. Something wasn’t right. The floor was hard and cold, the air musty, and it was dark. His head was also aching. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, not surprised to find a small knot there from where someone had clearly hit him. He looked around as his eyes adjusted to the dark. 

He cursed as he spotted someone near him and quickly moved over to them, hoping that they were still alive. He reached out to move them from their side to their back so he could get a look at their face. 

“Shit. Out of everyone it could be of course it would be you,” Keith said as he saw the man’s familiar face. 

He leaned down to check his breathing, relieved it was deep and steady. He then checked him over for injuries and was thankful he didn’t find anything. Though when he patted down the man’s arms he found the right one to be missing. That was going to complicate things. 

Keith gently shook the man’s shoulder, careful to not be in the direct path of any punches that might be thrown. The man was a veteran from the war and Keith knew all about the nightmares they could suffer and what could happen to someone who carelessly woke them up. 

Fortunately, there was only a groan and then a confused look on the man’s face as his right shoulder moved before he reached up with his left hand to rub his face. “What the hell… How much did I drink?” He grumbled to himself as he clearly struggled to wake up. 

“I’m afraid it’s worse than that, Prince Takashi,” Keith said. 

Out of all the things that could have happened, this had to be one of the worst-case scenarios and Keith had to wonder just when did his luck get so bad? 

-0-0-0-0- **2 Days Earlier** -0-0-0-0-

“Keith! What’s taking so long?” A loud booming voice shouted. 

“Coming!” Keith shouted back. He prided himself on being fit, but with how his master liked to overpack the chests filled with their wares even he was struggling. 

He finally got it out of the cart and over to the area they’d been given to set up their stall for the festival. It was his first time in the capital of Atlas and he had to say it was remarkable. The city walls and castle were made of a white stone that seemed to glisten in the sun and the whole city was decorated for the upcoming festival. It was the one year anniversary from the signing of the peace accords. A year of peace, successful harvests, and growing families were all things to celebrate. 

His master was never one to miss an opportunity to make some easy money and while he often complained about charms and spelled tokens being beneath him that didn’t stop him from making hundreds of them on their way to the capital. 

Keith had been working for Macidus for just under a year, learning to channel quintessence into charms and other types of magic. Macidus had been reluctant to take him on but Keith had a sensitivity to quintessence that was beyond impressive and a desire to get the job that wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

Mostly he was used as manual labour and told to run the storefront while Macidus worked on real magic and took on professionally hired cases without him. But he still taught Keith how to make the charms and create tokens and had told him that after the festival they would be able to move onto higher spells. 

Only being allowed to work on charms hadn’t stopped Keith from helping himself to all of Macidus’ books for months and his master didn’t seem to mind him learning everything he could on his own. He’d always been the independent type since he was young and just because he had a master now, it didn’t mean he always would. He always told Macidus that it was best to learn everything he could while he was able. 

He still hadn’t been able to get his hands on some of Macidus’ high level and secret grimoires but he was sure Macidus would either allow it or let his guard down enough for Keith to steal some time with them one day. 

“Ah, finally. I thought you’d never arrive. Keith, this is Hunk. He’s the son of the baker family but he’s handy with tools and is going to help you get the stand set up,” Macidus said. 

“Yes, Master,” Keith said as he dropped the trunk. It earned him a hard look from Macidus but it’s not like he was helping or that the things inside would break. 

“I have some meetings to attend with potential clients. I expect everything to be ready when I return,” Macidus paused and looked at Hunk and then at Keith before tossing him a small coin purse. “If you finish everything, you can look at the other stalls. Make sure to set the wards.” 

Keith smiled as he caught the pouch. He didn’t know if the festival atmosphere was putting his master in a good mood or if he worried Hunk would judge him as the miser he could be at times but Keith wasn’t going to complain. When he joined as an apprentice he was told he would be fed, clothed appropriately, and given clean lodgings but not to expect anything beyond that. So to be given coin to spend how he wanted was indeed a rare treat. 

“Thank you, Master. And I’ll set the wards and double-check them,” Keith said. The first time he had been trusted to set the wards on his own there had been a flaw in his casting. They hadn’t lost much but it was still enough for him to get a long tedious lecture from Macidus and be punished by missing dinner for several days. 

He’d been made to cast and take apart protection wards practically non-stop for a week after that. Macidus may not have gotten around to teaching him the more impressive spells in his repertoire yet but the ones he had taught Keith had been done so many times and with such strict supervision, he could cast them to perfection in his sleep. 

After one final long look, Macidus gave Keith a nod and turned abruptly and left, heading down the street likely to visit some lord’s manor. Keith really wished he would be brought to more of those types of meetings but if he asked, Macidus would only remind him of how much he had to learn, including his manners. 

Keith sighed and then turned to the big guy who was helping him. “Hey, I’m Keith,” He said and held out his hand. 

“Hunk. Your Master Macidus’ apprentice?” Hunk asked? 

“Uhh yeah… why?” 

“Nothing… just he seems a bit… uh… strict.” Hunk scratched the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable at saying rude things. 

Keith snorted. Strict was putting it mildly but Macidus had also never truly abused him. He had high standards and expected Keith to work hard but it was that sort of training that often turned any kind of apprentice into the best master mages. And it wasn’t as if Macidus didn’t hire on others to help with more menial tasks when possible. 

“Very strict. But don’t worry, he’s not as scary as he seems.” Keith had been a bit intimidated when they first met but he wasn’t the type to be put off by an icy exterior. He wasn’t sure Macidus was the type of person to ever have friends but his intensity didn’t affect Keith’s ability to learn from him.

“That’s good. So uhh… you’re a mage, too?” Hunk asked. 

“An apprentice. I can do some things but not nearly as much as Master Macidus,” Keith said. 

“But you’ll be able to do that one day, right?”

“That’s the plan. If we get set up, I can show you some of the stuff I made,” Keith said. 

Hunk’s eyes lit up and he nodded. Keith explained what needed to be done and Hunk even had some suggestions to make the set-up go faster. Apparently his family ran a few stalls through the year as well as their normal bakery. 

Hunk was friendly and competent and Keith was surprised to find himself enjoying the manual labour for once. 

Before he knew it, Hunk was helping him haul smaller boxes filled with charms, potions, and trinkets all spelled to do various things from the cart and to the stall. 

“You guys sure have a lot,” Hunk said. 

“We were told to expect a lot of people. And these sorts of charms are always popular at big events like this,” Keith said.

“What sorts?” Hunk asked. He watched as Keith opened a box and pulled out several trays to place on the stall counter before starting to fill them with charms. 

“These ones boost confidence, these are for luck, hmmm this one is for agility. They’re good for dancing or if you just want to make your way through the crowd more easily. These ones are a slight glamour, safely under the legal limit, but it will still make you look a bit more alluring,” Keith explained.

A lot of the charms were strictly regulated with how powerful they could be. It was interesting to Keith how the laws varied from place to place. Fortunately, Macidus had a book about it and always double-checked that they hadn’t changed when they arrived. 

Keith remembered one sleepless night when they arrived and found out that the luck charms they had were now too strong according to new laws. He had to lower the strength of all 200 charms they had so they wouldn’t be arrested. Macidus had shown him how, watched him do ten to his satisfaction, and then found an excuse on why he couldn’t assist. 

“Wow. And these?” Hunk asked pointing at some of the potions Keith was pulling out now. 

“Sorry. These normally all have signs. I just haven’t dug them out yet,” Keith said. Those little signs saved him so much sanity from not having to answer the same questions over and over again.

“Oh, should I wait and not bug you?” Hunk asked. 

“It’s fine. Uhh what bottles were you looking at?” Keith asked as he set out even more. 

“These ones. But I’m curious about them all. During the war, the mages were conscripted to help with the army and the defences. And then it’s just been crazy at home with my sister having more kids and I haven’t had time to really talk to any mages and see what they’re selling now,” Hunk explained. 

“Oh… right,” Keith said, not sure how to respond to that much candid information. He knew some towns hadn’t seen a lot of magic or not the variety and skill of it that Macidus had but he had thought the capital would be filled with other impressive masters. But Hunk was right, it was only a year after the war and a lot of mages had been drained during the war and probably still hadn’t recovered and those that had would be kept busy by the royal family helping all of the areas in the kingdom that had been hurt by the war. 

Hopefully, it meant that Macidus’ stall would be popular and all of their hard work would pay off handsomely. 

“This one helps with sleep. No matter what’s going on in the world around you, you’ll get a good night’s sleep. This one will help with hangovers and is always popular during festivals,” Keith said and Hunk laughed in agreement. 

“How about these ones? The bottles look fancier.” 

“They help with languages. Big cities like this get people from all over. So if you need to talk with someone from Altea but your Altean isn’t great, you take this and for three days you’ll be able to understand and speak it.” 

Hunk whistled and picked up the bottle looking closely at it. “Really? That seems just…”

“It’s magic, Hunk. It’s allowed to be unbelievable. But it’s also pretty high level. Master Macidus is usually the only one selling things like these when we visit places.” Though in the capital, Keith was sure that plenty of royal mages could make these potions to help with various diplomatic issues. 

“That’s true. I guess I’m used to more physical magic like fireballs and shields,” Hunk said. 

“Those are pretty impressive,” Keith said. And thanks to the war that’s what most people were familiar with but most mages that he had run across preferred more subtle magics. 

“Can you do things like that?” Hunk asked. 

“My master has taught me wards which is the start of shielding magic but he hasn’t taught me much aggressive magic yet,” Keith said. Macidus was more interested in running his business than making sure Keith had a fully rounded education but he would have to teach him it all someday if he didn’t want Keith reporting him to the guild. Apprentices had some protections from abusive or neglectful masters even if they did nothing to stop his master from using him for cheap labour to run stalls at various festivals.

“I guess it’s not super important stuff to know these days. We’re lucky that we have peace now.” 

“We are. It’d be hard for my master and I to travel if Atlas hadn’t secured peace,” Keith said. He finished laying out the last of the products and started putting out the signs, being careful to display everything up to Macidus’ standards. 

“The best part is trade being opened up again. There’s a couple of stalls that are selling some amazing foods and clothes,” Hunk said. 

“Yeah?” Keith asked, more focused on adjusting things than what Hunk was saying. 

“Have you ever seen a pineapple?” 

“An apple?” Keith asked thinking that everyone had seen those. 

“No. A pineapple,” Hunk said, emphasizing the pine. 

“Pine trees have apples?” Keith asked, even more confused than before. 

“No! Look, it’s easier to just show you. Your master gave you some money for lunch and we’re almost done, right?” Hunk asked, looking eager to explore. 

“Yeah. Just let me finish tidying up and casting the wards so nobody takes anything,” Keith said. He ducked behind the stall to start storing things out of the way.

“Hey! Hunk!” A loud voice called. Keith looked over and saw a man waving enthusiastically at Hunk. He shrugged and went back to work. It wasn’t surprising that someone who lived in the capital would have friends. He just hoped Hunk would still show him some of the good places to eat and shop. 

As the man got closer, Keith could see his light brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and while he was well dressed he somehow looked a bit scruffy, as if he spent his day worrying about other things than how his clothes were. Beside him was a tall and broad man with mostly black hair except for the bangs which were strangely white. He was dressed impeccably and stood with the rigid confidence of an officer. Considering the scars on both of the men’s faces, Keith wouldn't be surprised to learn they had fought in the war. 

“Do you have any of those honey buns?”

“Hey, Matt. Well, we do… at the store. And at the stall but it’s down by the square and we’re still setting up,” Hunk said as he scratched the back of his head. 

“What? Really?” Matt frowned at the answer. 

“Use your eyes, Matt. We’re at the stall of a mage,” The friend said as he gestured to the goods Keith had laid out. Keith, who had been taking the chance to eye the guy up from head to toe and thinking he wouldn’t mind seeing the man out of his clothes, quickly looked back at his goods. He hoped he wasn’t blushing. Besides, seeing the man again, let alone naked wasn’t something that was likely to happen since he was here as a lowly apprentice and wouldn’t have the chance to socialize during any of the festivities. 

“Ugh… I can’t eat those. Everyone’s so busy with preparations. Go sweet talk someone into giving us food,” Matt said. 

His friend laughed and then turned to look at Keith. “My apologies for my friend, master mage. Apparently I kept him out too long past his snack time and now all he can think about is food.”

“Oh… that’s okay. And uhh… I’m not a master. Just an apprentice…” Keith said, wondering why he was nervous. This was hardly the first handsome man he’d met in his travels. 

“Well, still. My apologies Apprentice…” A name was clearly expected. 

“Keith.” 

“Keith. I’m Shiro. Your wares look quite interesting. I’m sure you’ll be popular when the festival properly gets underway,” Shiro said. 

But Keith didn’t hear the flattering words, he was too busy taking in the features of the man with a whole new understanding. He was an idiot. “Oh! Shiro as in Prince Takashi Shirogane?” Keith asked already knowing the answer would be yes. 

“Don’t look so nervous, Keith. Shiro’s a good guy. He’s not worried about courtly manners and stuff when he’s just out on the town, right, Your Highness?” Hunk said. 

“Right. There’s a time and a place for bowing and fancy titles but a stroll down the capital to check on festival preparations isn’t one of them,” Shiro said. “So try not to look so worried, apprentice Keith. This festival is about enjoying ourselves after all.” 

“Shiro, save your flirting for someone who sells food.” Keith’s eyes grew wide at Matt’s words and definitely felt a blush on his cheeks this time. Surely Shiro wasn’t flirting with a lowly apprentice.

“But Matt, he sells things that are even better.” Shiro looked over at Keith and gave him a wink, not denying the flirting at all. He then turned his attention to the items on display and after looking them over for a moment picked one up. “You’ll definitely need this one for tonight if you plan on getting any girl to dance with you for more than five seconds and I’ll take this one.” 

He held up a charm for agility and then a luck one. “How much for the two?”

Keith thought about saying they were on the house for royalty or up charging him since a prince could certainly afford to pay more but in the end, gave the normal price he had planned to set for them. 

“Perfect. Here you are. Will you be at the stall all festival or will your master be working here at times?” Shiro asked as he handed over the gold. 

“My master will probably be here during the busiest times but he leaves most of the shop work to me,” Keith answered. 

Shiro looked a bit disappointed by that but Keith couldn’t say why. Shiro being kind and flirty was clearly a personality trait and not something to be taken seriously. He couldn’t actually want to spend time with some travelling commoner he’d just met.

“Well, perhaps I’ll see you again. I’m sure a few other charms would be handy to have.” 

“If you have any in mind you don’t see here, my master is skilled making all types of charms and would be happy to custom make one for you, Your Highness,” Keith said. 

“Hey, what did I say about titles?” Shiro said. Keith wanted to say he was pouting but surely a decorated war hero and prince didn’t pout. 

“My master will be more impressed if I tell him a prince purchased from me than just a handsome stranger named, Shiro,” Keith said. 

Shiro blinked at him and then beamed. “You think I’m handsome?” 

Had Keith said that part out loud? Well that was awkward. “Err I mean… you dress handsomely,” Keith said trying to salvage this conversation but not sure he was succeeding. Maybe he could grab a few charms to help him through this. 

Shrio just continued grinning at him while Hunk just looked pained by this conversation. Matt however looked amused.

“You can come back to seduce the pretty apprentice later, Shiro. I want food and we need to get back to the castle. Someone promised their family he’d be there to greet arriving dignitaries,” Matt said. 

“Hey! I’m not pretty,” Keith said. Pretty made him sound like some useless maiden. He probably should have objected to Matt encouraging Shiro to seduce him later, too but there was a part of him that enjoyed the thought that that might be true. 

“Certainly not pretty,” Shiro said. He had forced his expression into one that was more neutral though the corner of his lips quirked up like he knew a joke.

Keith was just happy he wasn’t encouraging Matt to carry on.

“But Matt is right. I need to get back. I hope I’ll see you later, _beautiful_ apprentice Keith.” Shiro finally gave in to the smile that was tugging at his lips and turned to leave before Keith could protest being called beautiful. 

Keith absently noted a few guards that had been milling around the street casually head off, trailing after their prince and he was thankful that while Shiro may seem relaxed his safety was still taken seriously. 

Matt’s laugh distracted him and he looked back at the pair’s retreating backs and saw Matt playfully nudge Shiro. He was obviously teasing the prince but Keith couldn’t make out the words.

Someone confused by everything that had just happened, Keith looked over at Hunk who still looked a bit pained by the whole conversation but eventually seemed to shake it off. 

“Are they always like that?” Keith asked. It had seemed like Hunk knew the two enough to be relaxed around them. 

“Matt’s usually worse. But I’ve never seen the prince so relaxed… he must be looking forward to the festival,” Hunk said. 

Keith nodded and decided there was no point in thinking about it for now. He had a job to do and flirting with a handsome prince wasn’t part of it. He’d finish setting up and distract himself with whatever a pineapple was and then when he got back, he’d be focused and ready to get back to work. 

“I guess since I’ve already made my first sale, I really do deserve that break. Are your family’s honey buns really famous?” Keith asked. 

“Yeah. We always sell out of them no matter how many we make. We only sell them for special occasions, too,” Hunk said looking proud about his family’s success. 

“If they’re so popular, why don’t you sell them all of the time?”

“They wouldn’t be as special if we had them all the time. And they take more work than a lot of other things we sell.” Hunk gave a shrug before passing over a few boxes for Keith to stow away. 

“Makes sense. I don’t suppose you can help me get one?” He liked honey and if they were good enough that a friend of the royal family wanted one, they had to be delicious. 

Hunk gave a friendly laugh and nodded. “Of course. I bet they’ll go great with pineapple, too.” 

Keith would have to take his word for that since he still couldn’t imagine what a pineapple was like. 

“Okay. Just let me set the wards and then we can go.” He’d also put a sign up saying when he’d be back just in case anyone came by and saw something they wanted to buy. 

Finally satisfied that everything was in order, he gave it a quick double-check and headed out into the slowly growing crowd, determined to focus on his work and not a smile that could light up the night sky. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Macidus was suitably impressed with Keith having sold items already and when he heard it was to the prince, he seemed eager to know if he’d be back. Keith shrugged and admitted that Shiro mentioned wanting to come by again. 

Keith had a feeling that Macidus wanted to take advantage of the prince’s deep pockets. 

Before he could question anything, Macidus had given him an order of charms that a shopkeeper he ran into earlier requested. He also wanted Keith to pick up some food and drinks for them so they wouldn’t have to leave the stall again as it got busier. 

Keith held back his sigh as he took the carefully packaged charms, a crude map of how to find the shop, and money from his master. 

“Don’t spend all day picking out something to get us,” Macidus warned. 

“Of course, Master. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Keith gave a slight bow to his master before departing. 

The streets were now filled with people and Keith could only imagine how crowded the main square would be as that’s where live entertainment was set up. Fortunately, the bookshop that he had to get to wouldn’t take him through there and he would make sure to find somewhere a bit quieter for food since he didn’t want to leave his master on his own for too long. 

Keith easily weaved his way through the crowded streets, taking a few side streets and trusting his inner sense of directions to not lead him astray. He smiled to himself when one shortcut let him out exactly where he had hoped it would. 

He consulted the map and found the appropriate landmarks depicted on it nearby and headed down the street to where he thought he saw the sign. 

He stepped out of the way of a couple passing by the shop door and then slid inside the quiet shop. Not many would choose to visit a bookstore over the festival happening a few streets over. 

“Hello?” Keith called as he stepped further into the store. 

“Over here,” A male voice called from the far side of the store. 

Keith made his way over and blinked at the eccentric-looking man who seemed to be half-buried in books. “Uhh I have your charms?” 

“Charms? Oh right. Just leave them on the counter near the front. I’ve already paid. And make sure they aren’t touching any of the books. That would be most unfortunate.” It was all said without looking up at him from the page he was reading.

“Sure.” Keith nodded and headed back to the front. The whole encounter had been a bit odd but still not the strangest customer Keith had run across. He carefully placed the package of charms on the counter, nudging a couple of stacks of books out of the way just to make sure none were touching it.

“By the way, what colour is your vest?” The man called from the shelves. 

“Red,” He answered though he didn’t know why the question had been asked. 

“Hmmm you should have worn the black one today. At least it wasn’t blue. That would have been really bad.” 

Was the shop clerk a psychic of some type? “Should I change?” Keith asked, wondering if he should head back toward the man to have a proper conversation or just escape the shop before he found out the man wasn’t just eccentric but crazy. 

“No! That would make things so much worse. But maybe you can make things a bit better by getting fish. Yes. Don’t get the beef. Or bread. No bread,” The man said, his voice a bit muffled.

“Okay. Well, I should be going. Thanks for the advice,” Keith said. 

“Good luck!” 

Keith shook his head, still wondering what to think about the encounter and the strange advice. As he made his way back, he saw a few places he was tempted by but they were selling beef or bread items and while Keith wasn’t sure if the bookshop owner was crazy or not, it wouldn’t hurt anything to get something fish-based for their meals. 

Keith didn’t really consider himself superstitious but he also knew the world held a lot of things that weren’t easily explained. And since he apparently wore the wrong coloured vest, looking for fish to eat didn’t seem that bad. 

Not that he would tell Macidus why he chose fish as their meals. Macidus said he made his own luck, quite literally since his master always had a luck charm on his person, and would likely tease Keith for believing the words of a crazy bookshop owner. 

He was nearly back to the main street when he spotted a small shop selling sushi out of a take out window and with only one person in line. Perfect. He quickly picked up some food and drinks for him and Macidus and hurried back. 

He spotted the stall through the crowds of people but didn’t see Macidus at it. Strange. 

Thinking he might be taking a break or working on a custom piece, he snuck between their stall and the next one over to the small covered area they had set up for privacy to work or relax in if needed. 

He didn’t hear anything as he neared it but that wasn’t surprising since his master spelled everything to keep noise in or out. He edged the flap open just enough to peek inside, not wanting to disturb Macidus if he was in the middle of spell casting and get yet another lecture.

But his master wasn’t in the tent alone. There were two other people inside, one dressed in rich noble clothes and the other looking like a thug for hire. He practically held his breath as he listened, closing the flap as much as he could while still leaving a break in the privacy spells. 

“He’s already visited once. Are you sure he’ll come back again?” The nobleman asked. 

“Keith seems convinced he will. And if he doesn’t we can still carry out the original plan. But if he does… it’s the best opportunity we’ll get. We’d be fools not to take it,” Macidus said. 

Keith held back a growl. They were talking about the prince and it didn’t sound like they were planning on doing anything nice to him. 

“He’ll have guards. They don’t stay close, but they do shadow him…” The thug looking one said. Was he a member of the palace guards? He seemed confident about his knowledge of them?

“I’ll tell him that Keith is here, working on charms and had one specially planned for him. He comes back here and we get him. I can make an illusion charm that will hold for about thirty minutes. It won’t hold up to close scrutiny but the guards will see the prince leaving and heading off elsewhere. You said they follow at a distance so it should work to our favour,” Macidus said. 

“And your apprentice?” The nobleman asked. 

“I’ll send him off to our rooms to work on charms. Tell him we’re running low on luck ones. Those are always popular. And I’ll want this place free in case I need to do a specialty casting. It’s nothing out of the ordinary.” 

“Do you think he’d help with our cause?” 

“He’s not very loyal to any kingdom or people as far as I can tell. But he has good survival instincts. Hopefully, when he sees how the tide is turning, he’ll stand by me. He has a lot of potential and I’d hate to see it wasted,” Macidus said. 

Keith was horrified at what was being so casually discussed and hated that Macidus thought he would join them in this, or at least be ambivalent enough about it not to care. 

A part of him was curious to hear more about what Macidus thought about him and his skills but he’d heard enough. He knew what he had to do next and it wasn't to pretend everything was fine and eat sushi with his master. 

He took a step back from the tent flap and backed directly into the hard body of someone. Shit. 

“Where are you off to little apprentice?” A man wearing clothes that matched the thug in the tent said as he grabbed hold of Keith. 

Keith was about to put up a fight, more than willing to use a few underhanded tricks to get out of the hold when something hard hit him from behind. 

“I guess you’ll need a new apprentice,” He heard the thug say with a laugh right before the world went dark. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Shiro groaned as he felt someone shake him. He knew at once he wasn’t in his bed and had to wonder what sort of mess Matt had gotten him into. “What the hell… How much did I drink?” He grumbled. 

When he tried to rub his face, he noticed his right arm didn’t move and frowned as he reached up with his left instead. What exactly happened last night? 

“I’m afraid it’s worse than that, Prince Takashi,” Keith said. 

Shiro blinked his eyes into focus and even in the dim light managed to take in just enough features to see it was the pretty apprentice from the magic stall. “Keith?” 

“Yeah… are you okay?” He asked. 

Shiro had a lot of questions but he took a moment to assess just how he was feeling and other than a bit of fogginess hanging over him he felt well enough. And it seemed like the longer he was awake the clearer his head was getting.

He started to sit, slightly off-balance without his arm, and was thankful when Keith reached over and helped him up without comment. 

“My head hurts a bit but it’s getting better. Where’s my arm?” He’d lost it during the war but the engineers and mages on staff at the palace had created a new one for him that worked beyond what he could have expected it. 

“I don’t know. I just woke up. I overheard master Macidus plotting against you and was caught and knocked out by some thug. I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you,” Keith said. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you did your best. And now that you mention it, I remember going back to your stall…. Macidus said you were working in the back and I could see you. Everything after that is fuzzy.” It was clear that something nefarious had happened from that point. 

But why leave him alive? Was he going to be ransomed or was his death to be made into some horrible spectacle for a cause? And why leave Keith with him? That seemed an odd choice but maybe Keith finding out hadn’t been part of the plan and they had to improvise. 

He groaned slightly. Macidus had clearly known he had visited the stall earlier and he had clearly been eager to see Keith again and had promptly headed for the little work area behind the stall without question. Matt had teased him about his interest in the apprentice most of the day and it was clearly even apparent to Macidus. 

If both he and Keith went missing, it would be easy to say that they’d gone off somewhere together for privacy and delay the time his guards and family actually panicked and started looking for him in earnest. 

They couldn’t afford Keith’s body to turn up while they used him as an excuse for the prince’s disappearance. 

“What is it? Are you alright?” Keith asked. 

“I’m fine. Just thinking. But it doesn’t matter right now. We should focus on escaping. Where do you think we are?” 

Shiro made it to his feet with just a little assistance from Keith and then Keith started to roam around the room. Shiro lost track of him in the gloom but followed his movements the best he could through the sounds he made. 

“Hmmm seems to be the basement of what has to be a fairly large house or store,” Keith said. 

“Can you see down here?” Shiro asked. He could make out his hand if he held it out but past that, it quickly became too dark to see anything. 

“Yeah.” 

“A spell?” Shiro was sure Keith had all sorts of tricks he could do. 

“Part of my heritage. I’m part Galra. I don’t really look it, but I picked up things like their sight and hearing… sense of smell, too but that’s not doing me any favours down here.” 

“Oh. I never would have guessed.” Shiro was surprised by the news since Keith looked completely human. 

“Are you angry with me now?” 

Shiro had the feeling that a lot of people didn’t appreciate Keith’s mixed heritage. Even before their people had warred against each other, animosity had often brewed under the surface. But Shiro had fought against the corrupt empire and those that led it, not the common people. He didn’t hold anyone’s race against them. 

“No. We’ve only just met and it’s not a requirement to share your heritage. I’m just thankful one of us can see what’s going on here.” 

There was a relieved sigh in the darkness and Shiro’s hand itched to reach out and pull Keith close for a hug. He knew nearly nothing about the apprentice but something about him called to Shiro and he wanted to offer his protection and comfort. 

“I could make a light. But I don’t know if it will draw attention to us,” Keith said. His voice was getting closer and after a couple more steps, Shiro could make out his outline. 

“It’s fine. You’ll just have to help me navigate. Did you find a way out?” 

“There’s a door that looks like it leads to an even deeper cellar and one up some steps that should lead to the rest of the house.” 

Shiro frowned. He didn’t like being so boxed in. Since they clearly wanted them both alive for now, the worst-case scenario, if they tried to leave and were caught, would be a few more bruises and ending back down here. 

“We’re going to have to risk it,” Shiro said. He wished he had both arms or at least a knife but he’d always been good at hand to hand and because his magic arm could be detached and could always potentially fail in a battle, he did make sure to practice once a week without it. He may not be a huge help in a fight, but he wouldn’t be a liability either. 

“I know. I just wish it hadn’t come to this. You were supposed to stay safe.” 

“Angry your luck charm failed?” Shiro asked. He could understand Keith being upset he was knocked out before he could warn anyone what Macidus was up to but this sounded like something more. Did Keith have a further involvement? Or maybe he also felt a connection to him like Shiro felt to Keith?

“Actually, I’m not sure it did,” Keith said, standing close enough now that Shiro could make out most of his features. 

“You consider being knocked out and waking up in a basement lucky?” 

“No. But you did wake up with me and neither of us were bound or injured. It could have been a lot worse for us and I don’t think they’re this incompetent. Besides, I made that charm. I have faith in it.” 

Shiro decided Keith might be right. Luck charms didn’t always work how one thought they should and sometimes the wearer didn’t fully see how lucky they were until the end of it all. Besides, Keith looked too proud of himself for having made the charm and Shiro didn’t want to argue against his skills. It didn’t matter that Keith was just an apprentice. If he was sure the luck charm was working, he would trust him. 

“Alright, I concede. But we’re going to need more than luck to get us out of here.” 

“Actually, I think luck was exactly what you needed,” Keith said. He reached out and took Shiro’s hand and started walking them across the room. 

“Because I’m with you?” Shiro asked. He appreciated Keith’s confidence but he was still cautious about how their escape would go. 

“Exactly. I uh… I may not have been fully honest,” Keith said. 

Shiro tensed. He didn’t need any more surprises right now. “About what?” 

“I’m a bit more qualified than I let on. I’m not Macidus’ apprentice because I need the training. We suspected he was up to something and I was tasked to keep an eye on him. And then I messed it all up… I’m going to be hearing about getting caught forever,” Keith said with a miserable sigh.

Shiro was more confused than ever but at least it seemed that no matter the dishonesty that Keith was still on his side. 

“Who is we?” As a prince and the general of the Atlas military, he was privy to nearly all of the secrets of the realm. He couldn’t recall ever hearing about a group that was keeping an eye on suspected enemies like this. 

“I guess there’s no point in keeping secrets now but let’s talk later. Just know I can get us out of here and keep you safe until we get your arm back,” Keith said. 

Shiro appreciated that Keith didn’t think he was entirely useless just because he was a prince. Despite playing a key role in the fight for peace, some still thought he was just a spoiled royal who could maybe lead but couldn’t actually fight. Being down to one arm was a disadvantage but he’d make sure it wouldn’t slow them down. 

“Alright. I trust you,” Shiro said. He didn’t have much choice but there was also something about Keith that made him want to believe in him.

“Good. Now hold onto my waist as we go up the stairs. I need my hands for the next part,” Keith said. 

He took Shiro’s hand and moved it to his hip as he turned to start up the stairs. Shiro was glad Keith was facing away and it was dark because he suddenly found himself blushing. It was ridiculous. He was just holding onto Keith so he could have help getting up the stairs in the dark. It didn’t mean anything, and he certainly wasn’t thinking about how much of Keith’s waist his hand covered or how when they moved a certain way, his hand would slide a little and brush the top curve of Keith’s ass. 

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they paused at the top of the stairs. He had to focus. Now was the worst time for his lusty thoughts to take over. 

“Can you hear anyone?” Shiro asked quietly after they had stood there for a few minutes and he was sure he wouldn’t say or do anything stupid to the man who was clearly on some sort of mission to protect the peace. 

“Yes. But I can’t tell if it’s just the two or more,” Keith said, looking back at Shiro. 

“Plan?”

Keith shrugged a little. “I’ve never been good at plans.” 

Shiro had to muffle his snort of laughter in his shoulder as best as he could. There was something about that admission that was so endearing. “Maybe an idea of one?” Shiro knew the importance of plans having led numerous armies and raids but he also knew that adaptability in unexpected situations was what really saved lives. 

“Blow the door out and hopefully take them out with it. If not, take advantage of the distraction.” It wasn’t a question but it sounded like one. 

“Okay. Should we look around for anything to use as a weapon?” 

“There’s nothing useful down there. And we’ll be fine. Just stay back until I give the clear.” 

Shiro didn’t like that idea but he knew the sudden light would hurt his eyes and slow him down as would fighting with one arm. He had to hope that Keith knew what he was doing and had the skills to back up his words. 

He reluctantly gave a nod and let go of Keith’s waist that he was still holding on to and moved back against the wall. 

Keith took a deep breath and reached out to the door. Nothing happened for a moment and then suddenly glowing runes appeared on each corner of the door, another growing large between Keith and the door. With another deep breath, Keith thrust his hands and the last rune toward the door. 

The door blasted out with so much force that it nearly brought down the opposite wall. There were a couple of yells and before Shiro could finish blinking away the dust and the brightness from the hall, Keith was gone. A blur of motion and a couple of grunts before there were two loud thuds and Keith was back in the doorway, silhouetted by the light and looking much more fierce than his smaller stature should allow. 

Shiro was beyond impressed and even more intrigued by just who Keith really was. He hoped they managed to escape successfully so he had time to find out. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Keith stepped back onto the stairs and reached out to take Shiro’s hand in his. His door attack had taken out one of the soldiers stationed at the door and the other two had been easy to take out while they were distracted and blinded by the smoke. They felt like cheap hired goons more than skilled fighters and Keith could only hope the rest of their escape would be that easy. 

“I didn’t see your arm around here. It was probably too much to hope our luck would be that strong,” Keith said. 

Shiro was looking around the mess Keith had made and paused at one of the unconscious bodies. “Should we take their weapons?” 

“I don’t need it. Do you want it?” Keith asked. He didn’t mind Shiro having a short blade. He was sure the prince knew how to use it since he was a general.

Shiro let go of Keith’s hand and kneeled down to run his fingers along the grip of the sword that the guy hadn’t even had time to draw. “It’s probably better I keep my hand free.” He still withdrew the sword and Keith watched as he tossed it into the darkness of the basement. The two the other man had on him followed with a resounding clang as they hit the basement floor. 

“Smart,” Keith said. He didn’t feel right killing the bastards in cold blood but they also didn’t have the time to secure them. Tossing away their most obvious weapons into the dark would either slow them down or make them less of a threat. 

“I did win a war, you know,” Shiro said and gave Keith a grin that made his heart thump awkwardly in his chest. 

He shook off the wave of affection he felt for the prince and gestured for them to head down the hall. “Come on. You can brag about your accomplishments later,” Keith said. 

Shiro followed down the hall, their steps quieting to almost nothing as they moved. “So does that mean you’ll stick around after we get out of here?” Shiro asked quietly, his mouth near Keith’s ear. 

A shiver ran down Keith’s spine and he raised a hand to brush Shiro away from his personal space. Not because he didn’t want it there, but because they really had to focus. “Ask me later. Let’s get out of here first,” Keith said. 

“Do we confront our assailants or go for a clean break?” Shiro asked. 

“Depends. How much do you want your arm back now and how much do you want to chance them running away once they notice us gone?” Keith was actually surprised they hadn’t been confronted yet. Their escape from the basement hadn’t exactly been quiet even with the dampening spell he’d woven into the blast. It put him on edge but they could hardly risk just staying here and waiting to be captured again.

“We can close the ports and put out notices for them as we send out guards to hunt them down. I doubt they could reach the borders before we find them,” Shiro said confidently. He then looked at his right shoulder where the empty sleeve of his jacket hung loose. 

“I doubt they’d run off with your arm. If you came back with soldiers later, you’d find it,” Keith said 

“Probably. But I’d be more help if I had both arms. This has been too easy so far and I don’t trust it,” Shiro said, voicing Keith’s own worries. 

“I’m tougher than I look.” 

“I saw what you did with that door and guards. I don’t doubt it. But we don’t know how many there are or what magic they have,” Shiro said. 

Keith frowned in thought. It was one thing to reveal he was a spy of some sort but to reveal exactly who he was and just how much he could do wasn’t something to be done carelessly. But letting Shiro die would be worse than exposing his secrets. He was sure Kolivan would forgive him for going off plan again. He always did. Besides, it was hardly his fault he was caught by surprise and captured with Shiro… well Kolivan would probably lecture and say it was his fault… but still... 

“We can do this,” Keith said. He would try to maintain some of his secrets for as long as he could. Just to mitigate some of the lectures he had coming in his future. 

“Alright. Let’s get out of here. We’ll never succeed if we don’t at least try.” 

Keith nodded and started up the stairs. Apparently they had been held in some sub-basement cellar. He really wanted a window so he could judge where they were. He didn’t think they were still in the city, that would be far too risky. But were they so far out that they’d have to risk getting horses? Or would making their way by foot be the best option. 

When they reached the door at the top of the stairs, they stood quietly, both listening for any sounds beyond. After a couple of minutes, Keith reached for the handle. It turned easily under his hand and he opened the door enough to see out of it, thankful that it didn’t creak. 

Keith’s view was limited but he didn’t see anyone. The door seemed to lead to a servant's area with how bare the decor was and how simple the finishings were. That could be to their advantage. The servant halls would lead more directly to back exits and maybe even the stables. 

“Okay,” He whispered and opened the door wide enough to slip through. He looked around again and then gestured for Shiro to follow. He could hear faint sounds from a kitchen down the hall and while it would certainly have a door, he didn’t want to be seen if he could avoid it. 

“This way,” He said, leading them away from the kitchen. There were doors on either side of them and Keith suspected they were servant quarters. Wherever they were, it was clearly a noble dwelling and even larger than he’d thought at first. 

He tried to think logically about the layout of the house and which side of the hall would have rooms with a window. 

Shiro tapped his shoulder and Keith looked back at him. “This one,” Shiro said. 

Keith gave him a curious look but only got a smile in return. He supposed if anyone might have an idea about staff quarters and how they worked, it would be Shiro and not him. He leaned in to listen at the door but Shiro just reached out and opened it. 

The room was empty but Keith still nearly had a heart attack. He was supposed to be the reckless one, not Shiro. 

“What were you thinking?” Keith asked once they were in the room with the door closed. 

“It’s the day, all of the staff will be at work. And this is probably the head cooks or head of staff’s room. There’s more space between this door and the others,” Shiro said. 

Keith grumbled because it made sense. “Fine. Just don’t take any more risks.” 

Shiro promised nothing and instead moved to the window and looked out of it. “Do you recognize it at all?” 

From the ground floor, most of the view was of the kitchen garden and wall beyond it. But they seemed to be up a hill and some of the valley could just be made out from the window. “Maybe…” Something seemed familiar about the place but he was seeing everything from an angle he normally wouldn’t when he travelled with Macidus. 

“It doesn’t look like we’re near the city though.” 

“No. Do we risk a horse or walking?” Keith asked. 

“Let’s get into the yard and see what’s out there before we decide.”

Keith nodded and looked at the window to figure out how to open it, thankful it was one where it slid up and not any of the styles that only tilted. Still, looking between the window and Shiro’s broad shoulders, he hoped the prince would fit. 

“Who goes first?” The window wasn’t that high off of the ground, so Keith was sure he’d be able to assist with Shiro getting through the window either way. 

“You. Just in case there are any surprises out there, you’re better equipped to handle it,” Shiro said. 

Keith nodded and opened up the window, locking it into place before sliding out of it and onto the ground. He crouched down and looked around but didn’t see anyone. He thought he heard some shuffling of boots and muffled voices in the distance but looking around again still didn’t show him anyone. 

Deciding the way was as clear as it was going to get and staying in one place too long would increase the risk of getting caught, he leaned back into the window and gestured for Shiro to come. 

The prince moved more gracefully than Keith expected and he barely needed any assistance at all. “You move better than I thought you would,” Keith said.

“Training. You never know when you’re going to be kidnapped and have your arm removed,” Shiro said. 

His tone was so dry that Keith couldn’t tell if he was joking or not so he just gave a nod and then turned back to face the yard. “Does it seem too quiet to you?” 

“A little. But if the estate only has the essential staff here to keep witnesses down it wouldn’t be so out of place.”

“This feels like a trap somehow.” Keith had expected to be ambushed before they left the basement and then when they were exploring the grand house to get out of it. But so far, other than the three guards at their door there’d been nobody. Well, they’d heard sounds from the kitchen but nothing Keith wouldn’t expect from that area of the house. And with how noisy and chaotic the kitchens could get, he also wasn’t suspicious that they hadn’t heard the ruckus from below. But others should have. His dampening spell couldn’t have been that effective, even with the solid build of the house. 

“They might have thought we’d be incapacitated longer… Though I’d probably station men in the stables and at the main and side entrance onto the estate just to be safe.”

“That’s the only explanation I can think of for why there are not more people here. And I did hear some noise from that way. Maybe that luck charm is paying off again,” Keith said. 

“Or this Macidus is just too arrogant.” 

Keith shrugged. Whether it was the charm or arrogance it still turned into luck for them. 

“So I’m guessing to be safe we don’t want to find a horse or use the main exits?” Keith asked. 

“If you can get us past the wall without being caught, I can acquire us a horse at the first inn or farmstead we come across,” Shiro said. 

Keith was sure it would be easy for the prince to convince any farmer or innkeeper to give him a horse, especially since they couldn’t be that far out from the capital. They’d just have to take the chance that the people weren’t under Macidus’ thumb and about to betray them.

But that was a problem for later. First, he had to get Shiro past a wall that in his current condition would be difficult to scale. Keith didn’t really think scaling it would be wise anyway. It would leave them far too open and visible. 

“Let’s get into the garden tool shed there. It looks like it’s built into the wall and will give us cover.” 

Shiro gave a nod and started making his way over there, proving that he’d once been a soldier with how swiftly and quietly he moved. Keith waited until he got across the garden and then followed along a similar path. 

The door wasn’t locked so they both slipped inside and shut the door behind them. Keith couldn’t see any way to lock it from the inside and didn’t want to risk moving anything that could make noise and alert people where they were so he’d just have to move quickly and hope nobody came in. 

“What’s the plan?” Shiro asked. He had done a loop around the shed and while the windows were caked in dust, enough light still filtered in to let them see. 

As Keith had hoped, the sidewall was formed from the wall around the main estate and they wouldn’t even need to move anything to get access to enough of it for what Keith needed. He walked over to the wall and laid his hands on it, a soft glow forming around them for a moment before he let them fall to his sides and turned back to Shiro. 

“We’re going to go through the wall,” Keith said. 

“If you blow a hole in the wall, it might take down the shed and draw everyone to us,” Shiro warned. 

“I’m not going to blow a hole in the wall. I know how to be subtle… sometimes.” Keith could hear the teasing in his head from those he knew questioning just when had he ever been subtle. But he had the time, the skills, and a good reason to be subtle this time. There was no reason not to do it. 

Shiro stared at him a moment and then at the wall and Keith could see when his plan had clicked. “That’s high-level magic. Are you sure you can do it? And with a second person?” 

“I’ve done it before. But I might be a bit weak after.” The last time he’d done it, he had been a bit disorientated and felt a little jelly-legged but it had worn off quickly enough. That wall had been a lot thinner than the current one he was about to go through but he was sure it would still work the same. 

“I’ll help you. I still have a perfectly good pair of legs even if I’m down an arm.” Shiro gave his thighs a light tap to show just how solid his legs were. 

“You have an odd sense of humour, don’t you?” Keith didn’t know if he found it endearing or frustrating but at least the Prince could keep his calm in a rough situation. 

“Only way to stay sane in a war,” Shiro said. 

“Fair.” Keith hadn’t fought directly in the war but he’d seen enough of the trauma it had caused and enough horrifying things on his own that he could understand different ways to cope with it all. 

“Hold onto me and don’t let go. We don’t need you getting stuck in the wall,” Keith instructed. 

Shiro moved up close behind him and wrapped his left arm around Keith’s chest and he placed his hand on Shiro’s forearm just to make sure it stayed in place. He really didn’t want to accidentally kill Shiro by having his insides filled with the bricks of the wall. 

He pricked his finger on his sharp incisor and hissed slightly at the feel of the rough wall dragging against the cut on his finger. But it was the quickest way to write the rune he needed and using his blood would make it stronger and more stable. 

“Ready?” He asked as he felt the rune charging. 

It was clear that Shiro was used to working with mages and knew what to do because he kept quiet during the whole process and just gave Keith a light squeeze to show he was ready to follow. 

Taking a deep breath to center himself since it’d been a while since he cast any proper magic like this, Keith finally released his power into the run and watched as the wall in front of him wavered. When he reached out his right hand, it disappeared into the wall as if it was water. Satisfied with his spell work, he gripped a little tighter to Shiro and began the slow shuffle through the wall. 

When they both exited the other side, Keith gasped as if he’d been holding his breath underwater and then sagged. He had expected to hit the ground, but Shiro’s arm around him tightened and he found himself held up by the Prince and pulled back against his chest. 

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly as he moved them back so Shiro was leaning back against the wall, giving them some coverage. 

“Give me… a sec…” Keith panted out. His legs were still feeling a little too weak to function and his head was spinning but he knew they couldn’t spend too much time here. Thankfully, after a few minutes he was sure he could move until they found some better cover to rest a bit longer in. 

“I’m not sure I recognize where we are without some more landmarks. But I guess it doesn’t really matter which way we go as long as there’s an inn or a home not involved in your master’s plot,” Shiro said. 

Keith nodded. While ideally, they would head toward the capital, the priority had to be getting somewhere safe so they could rest and get horses. Then, they’d be prepared for the ride back and in a better condition in case they encountered anyone not friendly.

“I think I see some buildings out that way. Hopefully, when we get moving, I’ll recognize where we are but if not, the people of that little town should be able to tell us.” 

Keith nodded again, not capable of much else. This was part of Shiro’s kingdom and just because he couldn’t place where they were yet, he had faith the prince would figure it out and come up with a strategy to get them back to Atlas. He’d assist where he could but right now he was just focused on getting upright on his own. 

“Can you get us somewhere to rest for a bit? I won’t need long.” Keith hated feeling weak but after a semi-unstructured casting of that size it was to be expected. And the stealthy exit should let them get well ahead of anyone who would come after them and confuse them in which way they headed. 

“We can cut through the forest. Safer than the roads right now and should save us some time, too.” 

Keith nodded and then gently pushed Shiro’s arm away. It was a strong band across his chest and while it wasn’t a hardship to be held against the prince’s muscled body, it was time to pull himself together and move. 

“Okay. Let’s go.” He took a step and annoyingly stumbled. He felt Shiro’s arm reach out to catch him and then wrap around his back and under his arms. 

“Lean on me for a bit. Remember, I’ve got two strong legs.” 

“Yeah. Just for a bit.” He threw his arm around Shiro’s back and together they started heading away from the estate.

When they’d gone some distance without hearing any calls of alarm, Keith risked looking back and sucked in a breath. He recognized it now. It was where Macidus and him had stayed for a night before carrying on to Atlas. It was a full day’s ride with the wagon. They were further out than he thought but with just horses, they should be able to make good time. 

“We stopped here on the way to the city. I thought it was just Macidus visiting an old friend and customer,” Keith said. He wondered how many other stops and private talks with customers along the way were really Macidus plotting against the crown. He knew that’s what Macidus had been up to but he was angry at himself for not realising just how deep the deception went. 

“When we get back to Atlas, we’ll send soldiers to investigate here and anywhere else you remember stopping at. I’ll make sure you aren’t held responsible for your master,” Shiro said. He held Keith a little tighter to him and they started walking again.


	2. Two

They had found a fairly hidden spot not far into the forest and they had rested for as long as they felt comfortable and Keith had moved better after that. But his energy had failed again well before they reached the little tavern and inn of the town. Shiro hauled them inside,ignoring the looks from the handful of townsfolk and sat Keith down on a chair as he went to sort out accommodations with the owner. It was thankfully easier than he’d thought securing a room and he was even able to request a meal be sent up though he declined the offer of help moving Keith. 

Going back to him, he hooked his arm around him, Keith doing his best to help as he leaned heavily on Shiro and shuffled one foot in front of the other. He looked barely awake and the determined frown of his face was surprisingly cute. 

Shiro had worried he was injured from the fight or in pain but Keith admitted that he was just tired and lacking energy. He apparently had underestimated just how important proper meals and sleep were to major spells. 

“Here we go. Just hang on while I get this unlocked and we can get you fed, cleaned up and rested. And we’ll both be good to go in a few hours,” Shiro said as he wrestled with keeping Keith upright and unlocking the door with only one hand. 

After nearly dropping Keith to the floor and fumbling the key more than a few times, he finally got the door open and then paused in the doorway. 

“Only one bed…” He said more to himself. He had thought he’d made it clear the room was for him and his friend. So either they only had single bed rooms left or the owner had misunderstood him when he said friend. 

There was no point in arguing about it now. They needed to stay together and he was too tired to want to try and see about getting a new room and moving Keith again. 

He walked Keith over to the bed and tipped him over onto it and then knelt down to struggle with tugging his boots off. 

“I should be doing that,” Keith said and made a half-hearted attempt to take his own boots off before collapsing back onto the bed. 

Shiro gave his knee a pat and just kept going with the boots. By the time he’d pulled them off and set them aside, Keith was sleeping. It didn’t look overly comfortable with his legs hanging off the bed like that but Shiro wasn’t willing to disturb him. Their meal would be here soon and Shiro would wake him up then. Instead, he grabbed the quilt from the foot of the bed and spread it over him as he went to go check out the bathroom. 

He was impressed that even into the countryside, they had fitted the bathroom with newer plumbing and after fiddling with the knobs and levers a moment, he got the flames lit and water running through the pipes. It wasn’t as luxurious or simple as the set up at the palace but it was a lot better than some of the bathing facilities that Shiro had seen on the road during the war. 

Food, bath, then bed. And then they could start on the road back to Atlas and stop whatever Macidus was planning. 

It pained him to have to wait but Keith wasn’t able to ride at the moment and Shiro could admit to himself, if not to Keith, that he was still feeling the effects of whatever they’d used on him to kidnap him. He was functional but only just and half-dragging Keith the last hour or so to the tavern hadn’t helped. 

When the food came, he arranged it on the wobbly table in the corner and went to wake up Keith. 

“Keith, time to eat,” He said, shaking the other man’s shoulder lightly. 

Keith startled awake with more energy than Shiro expected and a knife was somehow in his hand. 

“Sh-Shiro?” Keith asked as he blinked blearily at him, arm still raised and tense.

“Yeah. Time to eat. It will help you get some energy back.” 

Not knowing how much Keith needed to eat to help him, Shiro had ordered a selection of foods and enough to feed four. The owner had given him a strange look but he was pleased that his request was still met. 

“Right… sorry about that.” With a flick of his wrist, the knife was gone and he was slowly pushing up off the bed. 

“It’s okay. You’re not the first person who hasn’t appreciated getting woken up by me,” Shiro said with a smile. 

Keith huffed out a breath and Shiro thought he heard something mumbled about the war but decided to let it be as they made themselves comfortable at the table. 

“Eat what you want. I wasn’t sure what to get so I got a bit of everything,” He admitted. 

“Thanks. I’m not too picky.” Keith piled up various things on his plate and started eating with a gusto that Shiro was relieved to see. 

“And sorry about the room.” 

“Why? It looks clean and the bed was fine,” Keith said as he glanced around the room as if looking for flaws. 

“There’s only one though. We’re going to have to share.” 

Keith shrugged. “Not the first time I’ve had to do that. Unless uh… it’s me. I get royalty probably isn’t used to getting close to strange apprentice mages.” 

“No! It’s not you. I just… well, some people get weird about sharing beds. Like it’s one thing when you’re in the field and it’s a tent and you’re making do but this is a tavern…” Shiro didn’t want Keith to think he was rejecting him. 

“Oh right. Spoiled rich nobles aren’t used to slumming it, huh?” Keith said, a teasing glint in his eye that Shiro would have been thankful to see if he wasn’t the one being teased. It meant he was getting some energy back. 

“It’s not that. It’s about propriety,” Shiro finally said. It was one thing to get close when you had no choice but this clearly wasn’t that. 

Keith paused and blinked at him, clearly confused before chuckling. “It’s just sleeping. I don’t get what the big deal is,” Keith said. 

Shiro was starting to feel silly for worrying about it because it was just sleeping and he was sure they’d both slept worse and friendlier with others around them. “You’re right. I was being foolish.” There was no need to trouble Keith with his own conflicts about sharing a bed with someone who he wanted to do more with than just sleep beside. 

“Good. Now let's finish eating. The sooner we get cleaned up and sleep, the sooner we can get back on the road.” 

“Right,” Shiro said. He turned his attention to his food and hoped that Keith didn’t notice the glances he kept stealing. 

-0-0-0-0-

Keith watched as Shiro walked out of the bathroom, a towel draped around his shoulders, and only his breeches on. It was the same thing Keith was in and while their clothes weren’t exactly clean it was all they had and if the Prince hadn’t complained about slipping dirty clothes back on then neither would he. 

Though it was too bad that the charismatic war hero was apparently a prude or else Keith would have suggested sleeping naked. It would give their clothes a chance to air out and they’d probably be more comfortable. 

“Thanks for letting me bathe first,” Keith said. He was half asleep on the bed as it was and he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have nodded off on the bed or in the tub if he had gone second. 

“No problem. Ready to turn in?” Shiro asked. 

Keith nodded and watched as he went to the door and hit the switch. The light flickered for a moment before turning off, leaving only the gas lamp on the bedside dresser on.

“Do you think you’ll be able to get us horses for tomorrow?” Keith asked just to have something to say as Shiro lifted up the covers and settled into the bed. 

“Yes. And if not, we’ll steal some and return them and pay for the inconvenience we caused later,” Shiro said. 

Shiro turned on his side to better reach the lamp and turn it off but then he didn’t roll back over. Instead, he seemed to huddle against the far edge of the bed, back to Keith and leaving plenty of space between them. 

Keith frowned, the bed wasn’t that big and if Shiro slept like that he was bound to fall out of it. “I don’t take up that much space, you know.”

“Right,” Shiro said in that same odd tone he’d used at dinner. 

Keith shrugged and decided if that’s how the prince wanted to sleep he wouldn’t stop him. 

“Good night, Your highness,” Keith said. 

“Shiro.” 

“Hmm?” 

“You can call me Shiro. Didn’t I tell you that before?” Shiro asked, his voice muffled a little as he spoke away from Keith. 

Keith smiled to himself, glad that Shiro couldn’t see it. “Alright. Good night, Shiro.” 

“Good night, Keith.” 

Keith shut his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. 

When he woke in the morning, it was to his face pressed against Shiro’s broad naked chest and drooling on him. Whoops. 

He lifted his head enough to look at Shiro and he seemed to still be sleeping. He would just quietly slide away and pretend this never happened. 

He started to move when he noticed what seemed like a steel band locked around him and shifted to glare at Shiro’s arm. He could either break free and risk waking him up or sliding over Shiro’s body fully and slipping free off the side of the bed. 

Keith sighed and gave a test wriggle to see how much room he had to move and froze as Shiro made a small noise. After a moment, Shiro was quiet again and Keith tried to slide over him. He was already mostly on him, he just had to get his legs over. 

He gasped as he got both of his legs between Shiro’s and felt an impressive hardness against his stomach. It didn’t mean anything. Keith had been sleeping half on him and was now wriggling his way across him and who knew what the prince was dreaming about. But Keith couldn’t help but admire the prince’s proportions. And he certainly wasn’t wondering if Shiro was fully hard as he continued his attempt to be free of the embarrassing position. 

This time, Shiro let out a sound that was definitely a low moan and his arm somehow tightened around Keith, pulling him back in from where he was making progress. 

Keith cut himself off making a frustrated sound. Patience was never his strong suit and seeing all of his hard work undone was annoying. 

Screw it, he was done being sneaky. He’d just jump out of the bed and try to play it off. It would still be fine as long as he was off of Shiro’s naked and muscled chest before he woke up. 

He just miscalculated one thing in his plan. How fast Shiro could move and how strong he was even with just one arm. 

Keith’s sudden movements jolted Shiro awake faster than Keith had expected and instead of escaping the bed, he was grabbed once more and their legs tangled before they fell to the ground, the blankets tangled around them and Shiro somehow pressed down between his spread legs. 

“Fuck,” Keith swore as he reached up to rub his head where it hit the floor. 

“K-Keith?” Shiro asked as he blinked his eyes at him and shook his head lightly as if to shake off the remainder of his sleepiness. With only one arm, that was being used to hold himself up above Keith, it was impossible for him to rub at his eyes. 

“Uh, yeah. Hi… err good morning?” Keith was blaming his lack of smoothness on the mild head injury. “I don’t suppose you could move?” 

“Oh, sorry. What happened?” Shiro asked as he struggled to get off of Keith. 

The blankets weren’t helping and as they both tried to kick their legs free of the offending fabric, it was inevitable they’d rub up against each other. 

Keith moaned as Shiro rocked down against him and then snapped his mouth shut, horrified. It was zero consolation that Shiro had echoed the sound with his own or looked just as embarrassed by it. 

“Sorry,” They said at the same time. 

“Here… let me help,” Keith said. He tried to reach around Shiro to help with the blankets but it was difficult with how broad Shiro was. “Maybe you should lay down? I’m pretty sturdy.” And it would let Shiro reach back to help with the blankets. 

“Oh… right. Uhh is this okay?” Shiro asked after he’d slowly lowered himself down onto Keith, his shoulder blocking out Keith’s view. 

Keith tried to focus on reaching for the blankets and breathing and not on the solid, hot weight pressing into him or the even more solid and hot weight pressing against his own lower down. “Yeah. Let’s just get out of this.” 

A few more embarrassing noises and movements later and they were finally free and not looking at each other. Keith really hoped that Shiro didn’t ask what happened and they could just put all of that behind them. 

“Sorry again about all of that,” Shiro said. 

“Not your fault.” Keith didn’t know how they’d ended up sleeping the way they did but he wasn’t going to place all of the blame on Shiro. 

“Is this drool on my chest?” Keith turned enough to see Shiro rubbing his fingers over a mostly dry patch between his pecs and Keith wondered how that hadn’t rubbed away during their fiasco. 

“Uhhh… maybe? I’m going to get dressed and freshen up.” He grabbed his clothes and retreated to the bathroom. They didn’t have time for morning arousal or awkwardness. They had to get back to the capital and stop Macidus from whatever he was up to. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0

They were on the horses Shiro had procured for them on their way to the city and had been for the last few hours now. They had drifted into a mostly comfortable silence after exhausting the topics of the best way to get to Atlas, where they should stop along the way, and what Macidus might be up to. 

Shiro took advantage of the quiet to glance over at Keith and ponder just what had happened last night and this morning. Had he grabbed the man in his sleep? Had Keith grabbed him? A mutual attraction to each other? 

No matter what, it had certainly been a rude and horrific wake-up call. If he told Matt, he was sure the man would laugh so much that wine would come out his nose. Though a part of him wished he was a man of lesser valour and had taken advantage of the situation. If Keith had not been receptive he would have backed off but he had felt the other man’s arousal as clearly as he must have felt his. 

Shiro sighed and tried to focus on riding. It felt odd to do so without his right arm as if he was overbalanced and it was annoying to try to keep reaching for things with his right hand to only remember it wasn’t there. 

Having both arms would have made him a much more useful travel companion and he’d feel more confident if they ran into any danger on the roads. At least Keith wasn’t treating him like an invalid like so many others did before he got his new arm or on days he chose not to wear it to give his shoulder a break or to be prepared for a situation just like this one. 

He’d noticed Keith keeping an eye on him during certain activities but unless he was actively struggling, Keith kept to himself and just waited for Shiro to finish. And the couple of times he had needed assistance it hadn’t felt like pity. It made Shiro want to keep Keith in the city all the more once this was over. 

Keith was clearly more than just a simple apprentice and while Shiro wondered just why he was apprenticing to Macidus if that was the case, he mostly just cared about the fact that Keith was clearly on his side and with Macidus gone, would be free to stay in the city as long as Shiro would like him to. 

“Keith,” Shiro called to him as they eased their horses to a slower pace to give them a slight rest. 

“Yeah?” Keith glanced over at him but kept most of his attention on their surroundings. Just because they hadn’t run into anyone yet, didn’t mean there wouldn’t be trouble and they were both being cautious about anyone else on the road. 

“What will you do with Macidus gone? You said you weren’t really an apprentice…But if you need help with your mage qualifications or a posting, I could help,” Shiro offered. 

“Is that what you’ve been thinking about? What I’ll do after we stop Macidus?” Keith asked. 

He looked both surprised and maybe a little touched. Shiro took it as a good sign. 

“A little. It wouldn’t feel right to have you risk yourself so much to help with this and then not help in return.” The crown always tried to repay kindness with kindness and even if Shiro was invested in Keith staying in the capitol for selfish reasons, he would offer his assistance to anyone who aided him. 

“I’ll be okay, Shiro,” Keith said. 

Shiro felt his heart stutter at the smile that followed and quickly turned his face back to concentrate on the road. Keith may be well trained in fighting but that smile was much more lethal by far than anything he’d seen Keith do in their escape. 

“If you’re ever not… the offer is an open one,” Shiro said when he was sure he could speak without stuttering. Clearly the stress of being kidnapped and racing back to the capital was doing things to him. He should not be this flustered by a simple smile. 

“Thanks.” 

They rode in silence for a while after that and Shiro enjoyed how comfortable it was despite his less than graceful words. 

When they neared the capital, they knew it would be impossible to avoid travellers like they had been doing. There were also clearly soldiers out on patrol and Shiro could tell even at a distance what garrison they belonged to by the colours they wore. 

Shiro turned to smile at Keith, it seemed more luck was on their side. “That’s the garrison I worked with at the end of the war,” Shiro said. “They can make sure we get into the city safely and to the palace.” He knew he could trust Veronica and her troops even if it was possible there was other rot in the palace working with Macidus. 

“You’re positive?” Keith asked, eyeing up the troops before looking at the others outside the capital and eyeing them up. 

Everyone cart in and out of the city was being inspected and there were clear patrols around the border. They’d also seen scouts and messengers as they travelled though they’d carefully avoided them just in case they weren’t who they thought they were. Even when Shiro was sure he recognized people, he didn’t wish to test his luck talisman further by seeing if they were truly as loyal to him and the crown as he assumed. 

But this group, there would be no luck required. He had trusted them with his life on multiple occasions and would gladly do so again. “Yes. This was the unit I was stationed with for the last part of the war.” He had his personal guards with him and he moved to what units and branches of the military needed him but this was the one he worked with the closest and knew the best. 

“Alright. Let’s go. We’re going to ride hard and fast until we reach them. Just in case there’s anyone waiting to ambush us,” Keith said. 

Shiro nodded. Things had been far too quiet so far. A trap would make sense even if it was dangerous to lay one so close to the capital and in front of soldiers. But in an act of desperation, it could be their best tactic. And it was impossible to guess what they were really planning to do inside of the capital except that their goal was likely revenge and to help the Galra empire rise again. 

“If it looks like there’s trouble, yell Voltron. It’s a codeword we had when forces were coming together. It should make Veronica and her team understand what side we’re on,” Shiro said. 

“Okay. Just one more thing,” Keith said. He reached out toward Shiro and he saw the outline of magic written in the air before it came at him. He didn’t flinch and stayed perfectly still. Not just because he’d come to trust Keith in their short time together but because he recognized that symbol from so many days spent in battle. It was a protection shield. It wouldn’t do much for swords and knives but it would deflect arrows and any long-distance weapons that might be sent their way. 

“Thank you,” Shiro said. He waited for Keith to cast the same on himself and kept an eye on the scene in front of them. This would work. This would get them safely into the city, he could find his parents and they could all start sorting this mess out. 

“On go.” 

He gave Keith a nod and gripped his reins tighter in his one hand. A full charge without both arms would be a challenge but he could do it. He knew this terrain well and after hours on this horse, they were familiar enough that Shiro had faith they could make this short dash. 

“3. 2. 1. Go!” Keith said and then was off. Shiro took only a moment to follow before they were both flying across the field and toward the road that led to the main gate into the capital and where Veronica was overseeing the cart checks. 

As they got closer Shiro saw a bolt go flying past them and he started immediately looking for where it came from. Before he could spot anyone with a cross-bolt, another came flying toward them and he watched with wide eyes as it went directly for Keith.

The man didn’t even flinch, he just kept riding on and before Shiro could call out, the whole bolt, including the metal, turned to dust against Keith’s shield. And did Keith’s eyes just glow yellow? Just how powerful was he? He wanted to ask. He had so many questions for and about Keith but he had to focus on their task. 

“Voltron!” He yelled as they neared. Veronica and her team were already on high alert from the two of them racing toward her and undoubtedly the cross-bolt attack. Their swords were drawn, bows aimed, and riders were ready to charge. “Voltron!!”

He heard shouts and heard calls of Black Lion and he let out a breath he had been holding. They had heard him and recognized him. There were enemies around, but they weren’t alone anymore. 

The riders came toward them yelling Black Lion and Shiro saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye, Keith had drawn his blade again. Shiro shook his head and while Keith hesitated the blade disappeared back to wherever he hid it. 

“Prince Takashi!” 

“Shiro!” 

“Your Highness!” 

“To the walls, you gossiping hoard. Let’s go,” Veronica called out and her team surrounded them to lead them back into the capital. 

“The crossbow bolts came from the wall. Spelled for distance,” Keith said when Veronica moved close enough to be heard over the stampede of hooves. 

“On or from a window?” She asked, eyes gazing over the area. 

“Three windows to the left of the gate’s turret,” Keith said. 

“I’ll send people to look. Though they’ve probably fled,” Veronica said. 

“Just how many rats are in our city?” Shiro grumbled. He wished they would have been able to stop the archer but unless he was really inept, he’d be long gone. It was now going to be a matter of moving faster than him so they could act before he could. 

“We’ll clean out all of them, no matter the number,” Keith said. There was a determined look on his face and Shiro couldn’t help but believe that Keith would be able to follow up on that. 

But first, they had to find out the situation of the capital since they’d been forcibly removed from it. “Veronica, report. What have I missed since I’ve been gone,” Shiro said once they were passing through the gate at the city walls and could relax their guard slightly. 

“You were noticed missing after the fireworks display and it was presumed you ran off with,” Veronica’s gaze slid to Keith before going back to Shiro, “Mage Macidus’ apprentice. Is this him? Is it true? There were reports of raiders out and your arm was found badly damaged.” 

Shiro swore at that news though it made him doubly glad they hadn’t wasted time or effort looking for it back at the mansion. “Yes. This is his apprentice. But we didn’t run away. I was drugged and we woke up locked in a cellar,” Shiro said and hastily explained a bit of what happened. 

“The king and queen won’t like this. They’ve had Macidus at the castle to consult,” She said. 

“We’ll sort it out. I need to get to the castle before Macidus and his partners can find out I’m here,” Shiro said. The way he had arrived at the capital was not at all subtle but news still took time to get into the castle walls and even longer to reach the royal family. They could potentially still reach Macidus before the city gossip or the archer from the wall reached him. 

“I can send a runner,” Veronica said. 

“You can. But it will be too slow. At least to reach the people we need,” Keith said. 

“What’s your idea then?” Veronica asked. 

Keith took a breath and then let go of his reins to cup his hands and then open them. Inside was a golden messenger bird made of magic. “I’ll need some of your blood to get past the wards,” Keith said to Shiro. 

“How do you know about the wards?” 

Keith spared a glance at Veronica before looking back at Shiro, the hand with the bird held out to him. “It’s where the royal family lives, of course it will be warded to keep magic out. But they wouldn’t want to keep everything out, especially in emergencies where, let’s say, a member of the royal family doesn’t have a trained court mage with him. Blood is always the strongest way through protection charms. It’s a weak point but a necessary one. And presumably, the mages who crafted this ward would be smart enough to ensure the blood had to be freely given,” Keith explained. 

Shiro nodded, impressed with Keith’s knowledge, and how accurate his assumptions were. And since it was true, he held up his finger to the bird who pecked it, drawing blood. The bird’s golden tone started to fade until there were only black feathers with just a hint of golden light when it moved. 

“Give it a message. Any length is fine,” Keith said, hand still out though the other was now on the pommel of his saddle to help hold him steady in the awkward pose. 

Shiro leaned down, gripping his own pommel as he spoke quietly but clearly to the bird. He tried to keep his message short. Shiro knew that each moment of talking took energy to power and the longer the message the more quintessence was needed and it would also wear off faster. The bird didn’t have to go far, but it was also carrying out a vital task. If they could stop Macidus and his partners from knowing that Shiro was here, they had a much higher chance of catching them all without incident. 

“Okay. That should do it,” Shiro said. 

“Who is it going to? The king?” Keith asked. 

“Send it to Commander Iverson, he’ll know what to do,” Veronica suggested. 

“You’ll have to command it. I don’t know him well enough,” Keith admitted and held the bird out once more to Shiro. 

He knew how magical messengers worked, having used them more times than he could count during the war. He focused on Iverson’s’ face, voice, and where he was most likely to be found as he commanded the bird. “Go to Iverson. Do not stop for anyone else.” 

The bird looked at him a moment before nodding and then Keith lifted up his hand and the bird flew off to the castle. 

“So how are we getting in?” Keith asked as he looked at the ring of guards still around them and the attention they were attracting from the citizens. Though it wasn’t more than he would expect with the display they were making with all of their horses. 

“Back way?” Veronica asked. 

“Do you have secret tunnels?” Keith asked. 

“Did the general public know I was missing?” Shiro asked. 

“No. There were some rumours, especially after your arm was found but nothing widespread.” 

“Alright. That will help. Let’s go to the Lion’s Head for a drink,” He said loudly and jovially. 

There was no hesitation in those he’d fought with before, all cheering and naturally turning their horses to head to the pub that was famous with the royal guard. 

Keith gave him a curious look but didn’t say anything. They were still moving with urgency, though it was now disguised as a rowdiness and a desire to party and Shiro appreciated Keith trusting him like this. 

-0-0-0-0-

“So it is secret tunnels,” Keith said as he was led through the opening of the tunnels down in the cellar of the bar. It was actually quite clever having access to them be in a place that was well known to be popular with the royal guards. That way, it was always well protected and nobody would be suspicious about it. 

He also doubted that this was the only access to the tunnels but this was either the nearest one to them at the time or the best protected in case in the future Keith decided to betray the crown. He liked to think it was the latter. While he and Shiro had had to put their trust in each other the last couple of days he doubted he had earned such implicit trust. It was good that Shiro was still practical enough to take some precautions with him for the future.

“It’s fast and discreet. I trust you’ll keep the access point a secret,” Shiro said as he followed behind Veronica.

She was leading the way with a lantern that seemed to run on an intriguing mix of oil and light charms. In a less dire situation, Keith would have been interested in the mix of science and magic and how it allowed someone with no magic, as far as he could tell, to use it so easily. A couple of the guards behind him were also carrying them and it had taken a moment after they were lit for him to tune out the gentle hum of unique quintessence radiating from each one. 

“I think all of the guards who haunt the Lion’s Head will stop me from talking about it,” Keith said honestly. 

“Noticed that?” Shiro asked, the lanterns bright enough so Keith didn’t miss the wide smile directed at him. 

“Kind of hard not to. But now I’m more curious about the exit.” The tunnel had to eventually branch off to other halls and access points within the castle unless it really was just a direct path to sneak the royal family in and out of the grounds. 

“Patience. You’ll see soon enough,” Shiro said. 

“Plan once we’re inside?” Keith asked. He was already running through a few possibilities in his head. But he had to admit that he didn’t know the layout of the castle or where Macidus would be and how he’d react to them. 

“Veronica’s group is trained at taking down mages. It hopefully shouldn’t be too hard to get Macidus and his partners and figure out what their plan was,” Shiro said. 

Keith took that to mean they had no plan but had enough confidence in their ability to deal with whatever they walked into. Keith could handle that. That’s how he mostly operated even if it often got him scolded for being careless. 

They talked quietly about what to expect and who would take up what positions but mostly it was a quiet walk toward the castle and then up a stairwell. At the top, several members branched off and Keith tried to mentally guess where in the castle grounds they might be. He continued to follow Shiro even as another small group broke off to head down another side passage. He knew they were working to capture any known associates of Macidus in the castle and to block everyone in. Their group was aiming for the King and Queen and where Veronica believed Macidus would be. 

“Here,” Shiro whispered. He tapped on a bit of the wall before a panel moved away to reveal a handhold to open. This one was more concealed than the other doors they had walked by and he’d put money on it leading to a room frequented by the royal family. 

Keith saw a pulse of energy flare around Shiro as the door silently slid open a crack. Keith assumed it was another safety feature. Even if someone got into the tunnels, these inner rooms could only be accessed by those granted permission in the spell work. 

He leaned in close to see the last traces of the spell flare up and settle down again and to try to see past Shiro and into the room beyond. There was a tapestry of some sort blocking most of the already limited view and Keith hoped it stopped people from noticing the crack in the wall as the door opened since he could hear voices beyond. 

“That’s Macidus,” Keith whispered to Shiro who gave him a nod. 

“With that book, I’d be able to join it with the tracking spell I can cast because of the apprentice bond and take temporary control over his will and make him contact us,” Macidus said. 

Keith shuddered at the thought of that happening even if he was sure it was unlikely to succeed. It was true he had had to form an apprentice bond with Macidus but his skills and quintessence level were far beyond even what Macidus’ greed had assumed. 

With a grimace of disgust that such a spell even existed, he wondered if the spellbook was one of the main goals of this whole charade. Everyone knew that Atlas, who had always been strong in magics and research, had amassed a vast collection of rare books during the war. Partly to keep them safe from destruction and also as spoils of war as they had taken out Galra seats of power. 

“I know you’re anxious to see this resolved. And we are also worried about our son’s condition since his arm was found so damaged. But we don’t want to be hasty. Such a spell could do irreparable damage to you or your apprentice,” The king said. 

“We have numerous soldiers, guards, and mages scouring the kingdom for the two of them and the bandits that may have encountered them,” A male voice Keith couldn’t place said. He glanced at Shiro in question who leaned in close to him. 

“Iverson. They got the message,” Shiro said. 

Keith wanted to know how he could be so sure they’d gotten the message but he supposed the bird had had plenty of time to find the man and relay its message. He just hoped he hadn’t been in this room when it had happened. There was no reason to think that Macidus would recognize the spell work as his but there was always a chance he might pick up on the quintessence used for it and know that it came from his apprentice. Their bond meant it was easier for Macidus to distinguish his energies from others but the bird shouldn’t have been close enough to him for that.

Keith was starting to realize that while he wasn’t the best at following plans, he did actually like a little more information and guarantees going into a situation like this. And waiting behind the wall and listening wasn’t helping. The longer they waited the more things that could potentially go wrong. 

“We should act,” Keith said. 

“Not yet,” Shiro said.

“Every moment wasted is another moment that could lead them to disaster. My apprentice is skilled at what he knows but he is no battle mage and has only started training in the health arts. If they had thoughts of eloping or an adventure or whatever foolishness youths think about these days and things had gone wrong, they may be too stubborn to reach out. We should make them,” Macidus said. 

It was logical enough reasoning. If one could ignore that he was asking to use taboo and practically outlawed magic on his apprentice. 

There was more talking, harder to make out clearly and Keith really hated staying put and waiting. Anything could be happening beyond the door. 

“Our mages are working to reactivate our son’s tracking incantation. I think caution is our best option,” the king’s voice said. 

“The crown prince is missing an arm and has had his tracker disabled and you still won’t let me act?” 

“Master Macidus, please calm down. We’re all concerned about the prince and your apprentice,” Iverson said. 

“Something is strange here. Your tone has changed since he’s come in. You were all much more concerned and willing to listen to my idea earlier,” Macidus said. Keith shared a looked with Shiro. This was not good. Macidus was figuring them out. 

There were voices talking over each other as things escalated quickly. Keith caught mentions of magic and runes and shoved Shiro aside as he pushed through the door. He didn’t know if the royal family had mages with them and even if they did, Keith didn’t trust they’d be trained to stop the type of spells he’d seen in the books that Macidus thought he’d kept inaccessible from his apprentice. 

“Macidus!” Keith yelled. It ruined the element of surprise but he had hoped the distraction would be enough for him to lose control of the quintessence for a moment and ruin the spell work. No such luck for that but it did delay it as he ran across the library. 

He pulled out his knife and growled as he used it to counter a spell flung at him from one of the other mages in the room. He didn’t know if they were with the royal family or Macidus so he let them be and focused his attack on Macidus alone. 

His blade extended and he raised his hand, a rune forming to shatter Macidus’ shields he was likely to have on him as he ran toward him. 

With a yell, Macidus abandoned the destruction runes he was casting and turned to fling quintessence in the form of energy attacks at him. “I knew my apprentice was out of control,” He yelled as if he could save the situation. 

Keith snorted and dodged an attack before running in close and making contact with Macidus, his hand brushing against his arm. There was a burst of light as his shields shattered, the force of them being destroyed flinging Keith back into a shelf. He grunted as he pulled himself up. 

Thankfully, Macidus was also momentarily dazed. Less good was Shiro and Veronica emerging from the hidden passage. And Macidus had seen them, too. He acted even before his brain could fully take in just what forbidden rune Macidus was drawing to send Shiro’s way. 

With a guttural yell, he channeled his quintessence into his blade and body, eyes glowing a bright yellow against the purple aura his powers caused around him as he pushed off the shelf and lunged at Macidus. His blade sunk into his chest and out his back, directly through his heart. 

Macidus’ power fizzled out and only as Keith yanked out his blade and Macidus’ body hit the floor did he realize just how noisy the room was with everyone yelling. He spared a look toward the King and Queen who seemed in one piece, managed a partial bow of his head before he turned his back on them. “Shiro,” He whispered in relief to see him also well before everything went dark. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Shiro stared in shock for a moment before he leapt to close the space between him and Keith and knelt down to check on him. He let out a sigh of relief when he found a pulse and then tried to straighten out Keith’s body so he might be more comfortable. 

“Shiro, what’s going on? Do you know this man?” His father asked and he looked up at him and nodded. 

“Yes. He’s Macidus’ apprentice. We were both drugged and taken out of the city. We woke up in some cellar and he helped me escape. He’s more than just an apprentice but he’s on our side. I know that much,” Shiro said. He knew he left out a million details but everyone who was now crowding the library didn’t need to hear them. 

“And his name?” His mother asked. 

“Keith.” 

She waited for more but when he didn’t continue she gave a soft sigh but left it alone. “Let me call on the physicians and some staff to help you get Keith settled in a guest room and then you can both be looked after.” The tone in her voice meant that if she found out that Shiro didn’t let the court physician look at him he would be hearing about it. 

Considering the last couple of days he had, he was more than willing to be seen, just as long as Keith got the highest care, too. “Can you send Matt and Pidge up to me?” 

“Of course. They’ve been working to repair your arm since it came in.” 

Shiro was relieved to hear that. He would take any arm over nothing but the way his arm had been specially designed for him and tweaked and improved over the last year made it feel like a real limb and not just an invention attached to him. 

“Thank you.” 

“Shiro, Iverson will go with you. You’ll tell him what he needs to know before we finish rounding up all of Macidus’ accomplices. I wish Keith had left him alive so we could question him but from the way our mages were acting, it seemed the best course of action.” 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get answers from him. But if Veronica’s team was successful and we move quickly, I think we’ll find plenty of more people to interrogate,” Shiro said. 

“I was afraid of that. We always knew peace would be a hard road. I suppose we should have suspected something would have occurred at the festival celebrating it,” His father said. 

Shiro looked down at Keith and gently brushed his bangs from his face. “Someone did. And possibly whatever group he works for.” Keith had mentioned enough that Shiro was sure he worked for some sort of organization. A rebel group or a secret society to protect the crown he didn’t know. But he hoped Keith might tell him when he woke up. 

“Your Highness, the physicians are here. Let’s get Keith to a room,” Iverson said. 

It wasn’t long until the chaos was left behind and Keith was on a bed in a guest room in his own suite of rooms and being attended to by a physician and mage specialist. Shiro was sitting on a chair getting fussed over by Pidge, Matt and several palace staff members but he kept his attention on the bed. 

“Will he be okay?” He asked as the mage stepped back from the bed. 

“Yes. He just exerted himself. From what I heard, he’s been pushing himself for days. He’s surprisingly strong for someone who claims to be an apprentice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so young have such a deep well of quintessence power,” The mage said. 

“He did say he wasn’t just an apprentice. It makes sense considering the spells I’ve seen him do… Is there any way to help him recover faster?” Shiro asked. It was mostly his fault that Keith had been forced to do so many draining spells without rest after all. 

“Let him rest for now. We’ll send up some medicine for him to take when he wakes. It will restore and help balance out his powers and help with the fatigue and stress his body has been under.”

“Alright,” Shiro said. At least it seemed that Keith hadn’t been injured in the fight beyond needing some rest and to be careful of bruises and some tender muscles. 

“We’ll be sending up something for you, too, Your Majesty,” the physician said. Shiro failed to hold back a pout. Their tonics always tasted horrible. And even if it would lift the headache that was still lingering, he would almost prefer to suffer. 

“You need to set an example for your guest.” 

He let out a sigh but gave a nod. Of course, he’d follow the suggestion. Having an aversion to medicines from all of them he’d had to take as a child was no excuse to not be mature about it now. 

“I’ll do as ordered,” Shiro said. He then let out a pained grunt as Pidge locked his arm into place, activating the layers of magic in the advanced piece of machinery.

He was used to the feeling as he often removed his arm for bed or for maintenance but it had been a while since it was connected and the feeling felt sharper than usual. 

“Sorry. It might not be fully calibrated from the repairs we had to make on it. You’ll have to let us know if you notice any reaction delays so we can fix it,” Pidge said as she continued to tinker with the arm and made sure the fit was good. 

“Or if there’s any pain or discomfort,” Matt added on. 

Pidge sometimes got excited about her projects and forgot that they were attached to real live feeling humans. At least Matt usually remembered or did with Shiro. “Of course. Anything else?” 

He gently squeezed his hand, pleased when the fingers reacted and he could make a fist. He relaxed his fingers and turned his arm, there was a slight ache but Shiro wasn’t sure if that was a phantom pain from how tired he was or a fault in the arm so didn’t mention it. 

“Not right now. Be sure to let us know if you notice anything odd over the next day or so. We didn’t have a lot of time to run tests on everything once the repairs were done,” Matt said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow evening unless my parents have called for me,” Shiro said. 

“Okay. Then we’ll let you get some rest. And then go get cleaned up. No offense, Shiro, but you’re not going to be winning over any apprentices turned heroes looking and smelling like that,” Matt said with a teasing grin. 

“When he wakes up, you two should go to the hot springs,” Pidge mentioned casually as she collected her tools. 

Shiro smiled at the suggestion and thought that’s exactly what he would do. Not only would they be able to get perfectly clean, but the waters also had numerous healing and relaxing properties that both of them were sorely in need of. And if the extra perk was that they would be naked, in water, in close proximity to each other, well that didn’t need to be voiced.

“Just don’t ask him when you’re looking like that,” Matt said and gave his flesh arm a light punch. 

“Hey!” 

“Be good. He just saved your ass how many times?” 

“I’m not some pervert, Matt. And weren’t you two leaving?” Shiro asked. He was thankful that the rest of the staff had left already. He didn’t need more people seeing him as a fool with a crush. 

“We’re going. And Shiro, it’s good to have you back,” Matt gave his shoulder a squeeze before him and Pidge turned to leave. 

Shiro ran his fingers through his hair and looked over at the bed where Keith was sleeping. He was tempted to stay and watch him but he didn’t need Matt finding out and teasing him. Besides, he should clean up a little, take the undoubtedly horrible medicine, and make sure that Iverson and his parents had all the information they needed to finish hunting down Macidus and his gang. 

He stood and walked over to the bed, just to make sure Keith was really okay, and then turned to leave and walked through the receiving rooms to his own bedroom. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Keith woke with a jolt, sitting upright and looking around, hand gripping his blade. The last thing he remembered was charging at Macidus. But now he was in an empty bedroom and everything was quiet. He was going to assume that Macidus had been taken care of and that he wasn’t immediately deemed an enemy of the crown since he wasn’t restrained and the door was slightly opened and clearly not locked. 

Well, he wasn’t going to find out what happened by staying in bed. He forced himself to stand, despite his legs still feeling a little shaky and headed to the door. The sitting room was even more beautifully appointed than the bedroom had been and Keith was starting to suspect this wasn’t just a random guest room. A few of the trinkets, books, and pieces of art around the room made him pretty sure he knew exactly where he was even if he wasn’t sure why. 

“Shiro?” He called out. 

There was noise from another room and Keith started heading that way and stepped into yet another sitting room just as Shiro entered from another door. He slipped his knife away and walked further into the room. 

“Keith, you’re awake,” Shiro said, a smile on his face and with two arms. 

“You have your arm back,” Keith said. 

“Matt and Pidge got it working for me.” He gave Keith a little wave with his returned hand and Keith tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the gesture. “Oh, there’s a tonic and medicine you need to take. You should do that first. It will help make you feel better. They’re from the royal physician and one of our top Mage medics,” Shiro said. 

Shiro gestured to the sitting area surrounding a low coffee table with a tray that was clearly medicine on it and then several others with food and drinks. Keith grabbed the bottle and considered the tonic for a moment before opening it and chugging it back with a grimace. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to take a quintessence tonic but it was something he always hoped he wouldn’t need to repeat. 

“That good, huh?” Shiro asked. He sat down in one of the high back chairs and poured a glass of something that looked much more refreshing before handing it over. “Lemonade. I find it helps cleans out the taste of medicines pretty well.” 

Keith accepted it gratefully and took a sip, pleased by the tart flavour and that it did help remove some of the bitterness lingering in his mouth. He looked at the other medicines still on the tray and sighed before grabbing them to take. 

“I was thinking that after you ate a little, we could go to the hot springs together. The royal family has their own private one so we won’t be disturbed and it should help soothe away the last of the aches of our journey,” Shiro said. 

Keith was much more interested in getting back into the mix of things and making sure all of Macidus’ scumbag partners were taken out but it seemed like the two of them were being sidelined for the moment. Just how long was he out for?

“What’s been going on with Macidus and everything else?” He asked. He took a seat opposite Shiro and started piling some food onto a plate. 

“Commander Iverson spoke with me at length about what we’d been through and has sent men out to investigate the mansion we were at as well as the inn you and Macidus had booked for the festival. Most of his accomplices in the castle have been captured and are being pressed for more information before the crown makes a final decision on their fates,” Shiro said. 

It was easy for Keith to see that Shiro had led armies and fought a war before with how easily and calmly he delivered such news. 

“Most?” 

“Some fought and died in the process of being apprehended, much like Macidus,” Shiro explained. 

“Ah, that makes sense. How long was I out?” Keith wondered if it was just exhaustion and tapping too deeply into the quintessence around him that had caused him to pass out or if the snapping of the apprentice bond, no matter how false of one it was, had caused a backlash of some sort. 

“Only a few hours. Enough for some information to come in but not much. Right now, we’re most useful getting back to full strength, that way if they need us, we’ll actually be able to help,” Shiro said. 

It made sense, but it was still annoying to hear. But with the tonic, food, and apparently some time in a hot spring, Keith was sure in a few hours he’d be ready for action again. 

“You mentioned a hot spring? I heard that the waters of Atlas have a bunch of health benefits,” Keith said. 

“They do. After a soak in them, you’ll feel like you’ve rested for hours and had a great massage. Or at least that’s how I always feel.” 

That actually sounded pretty nice and visiting one of the city’s numerous public baths had been on his list of things to do in the city if he’d had a chance. He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to try them, especially one of the royal baths. “Then let’s go. I’ve had enough for now.” 

“Okay. We can always request more food later.” 

Shiro stood and started leading the way through even more rooms. It made Keith wonder just how many rooms one person needed for himself and he was about to ask just that when Shiro opened a door and revealed what was clearly the guard’s room. It was well appointed but also looked cozy and lived in. Two guards were standing by the far door and four more were relaxing on the chairs and sofa off to the side playing a game of dice popular with bored guards and soldiers across the land. They immediately rose when they saw Shiro and only sat back down when he waved them off. 

“We’re going to the baths. We promise not to run away or get kidnapped in the process,” Shiro said. 

His sense of humour clearly wasn’t shared by the guards who Keith bet had had a strict talk by their superiors. 

“Four of us will go with you, sir. We’ll stay outside of the baths at the entrance,” A guard with a silver star pinned on his chest said. 

“Sure. Let’s go then.” 

They headed down the halls with two guards in front and behind them and Keith felt just a little bit foolish. They were in the heart of the palace, surely this wasn’t necessary. 

“Is it always like this?” Keith asked. He remembered the first time he’d met Shiro and while he had spotted some guards trailing after him, he didn’t remember anything quite like this. 

“Not at all. My mom probably threatened them with something horrible for a month if they let me out of their sight. I’m pretty sure she’s more worried about me escaping the castle to help out with things than she is about someone getting in,” Shiro explained with a shrug. 

“Really?” 

“It wouldn’t be the first time. I’ll have to make it up to the guards later. They’re probably stuck in the secret tunnels outside my rooms all night, too. Right, James?” 

“We’re just glad to have you back in one piece, sir.” 

“That wasn’t a no,” Keith pointed out, making Shiro laugh. 

“It definitely wasn’t. It seems we’re under a polite house arrest until my mother declares us not more problematic than we are helpful.”

“I know how that goes,” Keith said. His mother was much the same when she thought that Keith needed to learn a lesson or be kept back somewhere for his own good. 

“Really? Actually, I’m not surprised. I remember how you got us out of the cellar,” Shiro said. 

“It got us out, didn’t it,” Keith protested. He was not pouting. He just thought his plan had been perfectly acceptable. 

“It did. James, you’re staying out here?” Shiro asked as he stood in front of a door that was decorated with waves around the border. 

“Yes. Yell if you’re attacked by sea monsters, sir,” He said. 

“Will do. Come on, Keith.” He stepped in and to the side and Keith followed, his eyes going wide at the sight. 

It had to be one of the most ridiculous bathing rooms he’d ever seen. There was a large changing area to one side, showers to another and then a large pool of water with an ornate and beautifully made waterfall filling it. “Wow,” He said. 

“It’s great, right? Just wait until you get in.” Shiro moved over to the changing area and started stripping off.

For someone who was so concerned about propriety at the inn, he didn’t seem to possess anything of the sort now. 

“Is this okay?” He asked. Though with the humidity of the room, Keith was more than ready to start taking off his own clothes. He knew such things were common in public baths and he’d shared plenty of bathing pools with people before but it seemed different when the other person was Shiro.

“How else are we going to get clean and relax? We can’t go in with clothes on,” Shiro said like it was just common sense. 

Perhaps it was. Maybe there really was something different about seeing each other undressed in a private bathroom or in a bedroom than there was in a space like this. 

Deciding not to think about it, Keith started stripping out of his own clothes, copying Shiro by putting them in a basket on a shelf. He noticed there was a stack of towels and what looked like comfortable robes to wear after and was thankful to see them. He really didn’t want to put his dirty clothes back on until he had to. 

“A quick scrub and then we can relax,” Shiro said and walked across the room to one of the shower areas and sat down on a small stool to start cleaning off. 

Keith stood there dumbly for a moment, the vision of Shiro’s naked backside searing itself into his brain to undoubtedly haunt him in his dreams for the next year or so before remembering he was meant to be doing something and headed to his own stool to start getting clean. 

He worked diligently to scrub off a long day’s travel off of himself and tried desperately not to sneak looks at Shiro. With a final rinse, Keith stood and tidied the shower area and looked over at the water. 

“Go ahead. I’ll be right there,” Shiro said.

Keith glanced quickly at him and noticed he was applying some sort of oil to his arm and decided to leave him to it. He strode over to the water and carefully dipped a toe in. It was hot but not to the point of pain. He walked down the steps and slowly sunk down into the water until it was up to his chin and let out a long sigh. He could feel the slightest bit of quintessence swirling around him. Not enough to be noticed by most but certainly enough to help give credence to just what these waters could do to help restore someone. 

He drifted over to a raised area he could comfortably sit on and stretched out his legs in front of him before tilting his head back to rest against the edge of the bath and let his eyes close as he gave another sigh. This was even better than he imagined.

-0-0-0-0-

Shiro hadn’t exactly forgotten that sharing the hot springs meant that they’d be naked together but it was one thing to idly consider it and another to have all of Keith’s naked skin on display in front of him. The hot springs were not meant for lustful thoughts. But Shiro’s body didn’t quite get the message. 

So he used the need to oil his arm as an excuse to take a moment to get himself under control and to let Keith get into the water. His arm really did need special care and if he took a bit more time with it than necessary, well it was just newly attached and nobody could blame him. 

Confident he wouldn’t embarrass himself he walked over to the water and felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at Keith so open and relaxed. 

Shiro had thought Keith pretty the first time he’d seen him but now that he knew more about the man, he felt so much more toward him. He wondered what he’d have to do or say to get Keith to stay and to give up whatever mysterious life he led when not playing as an apprentice and rescuing princes. 

Shiro sunk into the water and let out a relaxed sigh much as Keith had. The water just felt too good to react any differently. He moved closer to Keith, who had opened his eyes enough to watch him but hadn’t bothered to move, and made himself comfortable. 

“This really does feel amazing,” Keith said. 

“Good. You’ve earned this.” 

“We both have. You helped a lot, too.”

Shiro knew that he had contributed to their little misadventure but he was also pretty sure that Keith would have managed just fine on his own. 

“By the way… I was wondering. How did Macidus get you anyway? You always have guards with you, even if they’re subtle,” Keith said. 

Shiro grimaced at the question. 

“That bad?” Keith asked. 

“Not exactly…” He had sidestepped exactly how he had ended up drugged and in the cellar of some strange mansion before but even if it was embarrassing, he wanted to tell the truth. He was willing to feel a little foolish if it helped Keith realize just how much Shiro really wanted him to stay. 

It wasn’t from some sense of obligation for having helped him but because he’d come to truly admire Keith’s skills and that he’d had a bit of a crush on him from the start and wanted to see where it went. 

“I went back to visit you like I said I would but it was Macidus working the stall. I asked after you thinking that if you were on a break we’d be able to enjoy a bit of the festival together. He mentioned you were in the back tent working on some stock but if I wanted, I could take you around for an hour,” Shiro said. 

Keith snorted and then waved off Shiro’s confused look. “I’m just trying to think of a time that Macidus had ever so easily given me so much free time off. Especially if it meant he’d actually have to do the work of selling the charms,” Keith said. 

Shiro nodded in reluctant agreement. It seemed obvious now but hindsight was like that and at the time he didn’t know much about Macidus’ character to see anything suspicious. 

“So I went to the tent and I remember seeing nobody there and then an arm clamped around me and a cloth pressed to my face. It’s a bit embarrassing just how easily the supposed hero of the war went down.” 

“They were using dirty tactics and you should have been safe in your own capital city,” Keith said. 

Shiro thought it was kind of him to make excuses for his oversight. He didn’t want to always feel on guard around his own people but he’d certainly have to be a bit more vigilant in larger festivals. 

“So that explains how they got you. But how did they have the time to get you out and make up a story about us running off?” 

“That part had been bugging me a bit. Matt filled me in when he was fixing my arm and it seemed someone was wearing a charm that made them look enough like me to fool my guards from a distance. And that by the time it faded, I would have been well out of the city. I’m not sure how that trick played out or why people thought we had planned it instead of suspecting foul play but I’ll get more details once things are more settled. It will let us plan to stop any future incidents like this from happening. Or at least be able to react to it better,” Shiro said. 

Keith made a hum of agreement and then sat up before sliding over closer to him so that their knees bumped against each other. “So all of this happened because you wanted to take me on a date?” 

“Uhh…” Shiro was pretty sure it would have happened one way or another considering all of the players involved and the timing of everything but he certainly had made it easier for everyone with his attraction to the handsome apprentice. Yes?” Shiro admitted, although a bit reluctantly. 

“I would have said yes,” Keith said. He bumped his knee against Shiro’s again and Shiro felt bold enough to nudge him back with his own. “And not because you’re the prince or I was supposed to protect you or anything like that. Just because…” 

The smile already tugging at Shiro’s lips grew wide at that. It wasn’t a love confession or even an admission of wanting to go on a date now. But beautiful and talented Keith said that he would have gone to the festival with him if they had had the chance. That was enough. 

It was more than enough for him to boldly lean forward, a hand reaching out to the back of Keith’s head to help pull him in and give him a light kiss. He leaned back to give him a chance to say no or move away but instead, Keith smiled and tugged Shiro in for another kiss. 

The kiss deepened and one of them moaned and then somehow Keith was on his lap and they were both definitely moaning into the kiss that was getting increasingly sloppy as they rocked against each other. 

“We should stop,” Shiro said. His hands that had found their way to Keith’s hips and were holding tight were saying the opposite of his words. 

“We should keep going,” Keith said.

Shiro nodded but managed to lean back before Keith could kiss him again. “Not in the hot springs. My room?” He wanted to take his time showing Keith just how much he appreciated him and wanted to get to know everything about him. He could do that so much more easily on a bed and when he wasn’t thinking about the fact that his family used these hot springs. 

“Good plan. Come on, let’s get those robes on and try to not scandalize your guards on the way back. That head one seems a bit uptight,” Keith said. He had already slid off Shiro’s lap and Shiro found himself forgetting every language he’d ever learned as Keith stepped out of the hot springs and made his way over to the towels. 

“Shiro?” Keith called back, probably after Shiro had been quiet for too long. 

“Right. Sorry. Yeah, James can be a bit by the book,” Shiro said. He stood up out of the water not ashamed this time that Keith had aroused him. 

Keith clearly eyed him from head to toe and Shiro liked the desire he could see and was so distracted by it that a towel hit him in the head. 

“You’re cute when you’re horny,” Keith said.

Shiro huffed but didn’t bother arguing that. He might not have gone with cute but he was definitely horny. When they were both dressed in robes, Keith opened the door and the cool evening air hit them. It was enough of a shock to remind Shiro to behave as they all headed back to his rooms.

But just because he was behaving, didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking up all sorts of things he and Keith could do as soon as they left his guards behind in the anteroom. 

Tonight was going to be amazing and he would spare some of it to convince Keith to stay so every night could be as good. 

-0-0-0-0-0

Shiro woke up with a pleased smile on his face and muscles a little sore from overexertion. But the good kind, the kind that made him want to lay in bed a little longer and cuddle his partner and maybe even see if they had enough energy to do more than trade lazy kisses. 

He reached out for Keith and frowned when he only encountered a cool bed. He rubbed his eyes, blinking away the last of the sleepiness as he sat up and checked both sides of the large bed and the room for any sign of Keith. 

Nothing. 

He let out a long sigh and flopped back onto the bed without checking the other rooms.

Keith had been reluctant to talk about himself too much last night, only mentioning that he was sworn to a guild and they would expect him to report in. Shiro didn’t think that had meant immediately and he hoped it didn’t mean he’d be gone forever. But Keith had been careful to make no promises and waking up alone after a night like the one they shared didn’t bode well. 

He sighed again and then grabbed the pillow Keith had used and smothered himself with it lightly as he let out a frustrated groan. He had found the perfect man and had experienced perhaps one of the best nights of his life and this is how his day was starting? 

Deciding that suffocating himself wouldn’t solve anything, Shiro reluctantly sat up and forced himself out of bed. He’d see if anyone may have seen Keith leave, something he doubted, and then get to work helping Iverson and his family with the plot that tried to ruin their hard-won peace. 

And if he seemed a little less free with his smiles that day or lingered overwork instead of returning to his rooms that night, he hoped everyone would be kind enough to not point it out.

He wasn’t sure if it was only in his dreams or if it was something that had really happened but he could hear echoes of Keith’s voice in his head telling him to be patient and to wait and that’s what he’d do. At least until everything was once again taken care of at the castle. Then, he’d see about organizing a party to go with him to see if he could figure out more about this mysterious guild and Keith. 

He wasn’t quite ready to let such perfection slip away forever and his patience to wait could only extend so far.


	3. Epilogue

Shiro waited next to his family on the steps that led down to the main entry for the new chief mage to arrive after the previous one had retired. He hoped to work together well with them to protect the nation. During the war, he came to value just how crucial mages were to not only fighting but furthering innovations and helping the kingdom as a whole. 

Putting on his diplomatic face as the carriage pulled in, he couldn't help but think of the last mage he had worked closely with. It hadn’t been in any official capacity and being kidnapped and dashing around with only one arm wasn’t really his idea of a good time, but he’d do it again if it meant working with Keith. He had hoped to lure him into staying but he was gone before he could even properly make an offer and even months later he’d manage to find no trace of the mysterious man.

He tried not to sigh as a footman moved to the carriage to open the door. No matter who this new mage was, he wouldn’t judge them just because they weren’t Keith. Even if Keith had stayed, Shiro had no idea what he would have ended up doing. There was still so much he didn’t know about the man other than that he was clearly too skilled to be an apprentice. 

He straightened his shoulders, prepared to welcome the new mage to their new home when he saw just who had stepped out of the carriage. 

Forgetting all of the etiquette that had been drilled into his head all of his life, he practically flew down the stairs and to the carriage. He reached out and pulled the mage into his arms and hugged him tightly. He didn’t even hear the startled yelp of the footman or the noise behind him that his complete disregard for propriety and decorum was causing. 

“Uhh. Surprise?” Keith said after a moment, his voice muffled from his face still being pressed against Shiro’s chest. 

“But how?” 

“Well.. you know how I said I was better at magic than Macidus knew… well, it may have been an understatement.” Keith worked a hand between them with some difficulty with how tightly Shiro was still holding him but managed to pull up the chain around his necklace which held the medallion that showed off his mage qualification. 

It wasn’t just a mage medallion or even a master mage. It was the top tier superior master mage raking. There were only a handful of mages across all the kingdoms who currently held it. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “You…” 

“Me?” Keith said. He tucked the medallion away again while Shiro still struggled to find the words. He wondered if he should feel mad that Keith had tricked him so much about his level of ability but all he could feel was awe. It was immediately followed by a giddiness as he realized that Keith was really here to be their new chief mage and that he’d be staying. 

“Takashi, let the young man go and have some decorum,” His mother’s voice drifted to him and Shiro finally remembered that they were in public and he was making a scene. 

He also didn’t care. He leaned down and captured Keith’s lips in a kiss, satisfied when after a startled moment, Keith returned it. 

“Welcome home,” Shiro said when their lips parted. He ignored the shocked gasps and gossip as he took Keith’s hand and led him across the courtyard. 

“It’s good to be back,” Keith said. Shiro caught him looking up at the royal family and the palace beyond and gave Keith’s hand an encouraging squeeze. He’d make sure their chief mage settled in well at court and into the palace. Though he’d have to see about getting Keith's belongings moved to his suite of rooms instead. 

-end-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they lived happily ever after~
> 
> If you enjoyed it, please leave a kudos and/or comment. You can also find me at [ @SagelySea](https://twitter.com/SagelySea) on twitter. 
> 
> Check out my big bang artist, Mivi's, twitter [ @krayzkit](https://twitter.com/krayzkit/status/1275964303640653824) for not one, not two but 4 amazing pieces of art. 
> 
> And a big Thank you to my friend and beta who helped me out last minute and did their best to catch all my various typos and consistency errors.


End file.
